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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23400556">The Weathervane Always Points Home</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BasilGrey/pseuds/BasilGrey'>BasilGrey</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>All the Friendship, Cass and Eugene are such great bros, Cassarian Month 2020 (Disney), Cass’ friends have so much love for her and it kinda bewilders her, Dwayne is hilarious he deserves fics, F/M, Friendship, Friendshippy Love, Gen, Hot Air Balloon Rides!, Mostly fluff and character development, NOW AT LAST I SEE THE LIGHT, New Dream parallels because I can't resist, Paper lanterns too small for you?, Rapunzel REALLY wants to make sure things don't go back to the way they were, Rapunzel is never going to let Cass live down the 'ruffians' thing, That sad horse Cass stole in CR is very protective of Varian now, These two have the neatest dynamic!!, This poorly-attempted party-crashing of sorts was brought to you by: Dwayne, Try lantern-shaped HOT AIR BALLOONS, Two Years Later, Varian is trying not to be overly worried for her, Varian's mental sense of humor runs pretty much entirely on dad jokes, boatloads of it, enter: Dad Lance!!, everyone loves hearing Cass laugh, he spares his friends from it though, let's see if anyone will crash Rapunzel's NEXT birthday party, more friendship, slight angst, tags to be added as we go along, the last time Varian and Cass interacted on Rapunzel's birthday it didn't go so well, there was an incident with her necklace, this has turned into a wildly friendshippy reunion fic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 06:00:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>40,978</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23400556</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BasilGrey/pseuds/BasilGrey</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The breeze blew in circles around them, as if even it was excited that she was home.</p><p>(For Week 1 of Cassarian Month 2020! Prompt: Reunion.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cassandra &amp; Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider &amp; Rapunzel, Cassandra &amp; Varian (Disney: Tangled), Cassandra/Varian (Disney: Tangled)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>100</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>At long last, my entry for Week 1 of Cassarian Month! This was originally supposed to be a oneshot—but it got too long for that, so then it was supposed to be three chapters. But this chapter still somehow ended up being 9k that way, so I'm splitting it into two. So four chapters! The prompt I used is "Reunion". It's got a little bit of "First Steps" in there as well!</p><p>This is mostly friendshippy with boatloads of fluff, because I just really like the dynamic these two have. (And it's gotten <i>looong,</i> because I have way too much fun writing character interactions and then feel bad interrupting them. XD) But hey, Cass and Varian! With a side dish of the Cass, Raps, &amp; Eugene friendship and Dad Lance! Although those aren’t until the next chapter. xD</p><p>The rest of the chapters <i>should</i> be up within the week—we'll see how I do with my writing schedule. I already had hoped to do an entry for every week, plus one, but now there's a server treasure hunt that leads you to <i>bonus prompts</i> and I have WAY too much inspiration right now. Send help! XD</p><p>I have so much fun writing for this fandom. Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The leaves skipped and whirled about on the path leading to Corona, and last year's acorn shells bounced and scattered whenever Fidella's hooves caught their edges.</p><p>Cassandra tried to enjoy the feeling of the cool spring air tossing her hair around as they trotted forward, but all she could focus on was the ball of nervousness that was currently trying to constrict in her stomach.</p><p>"Hey, uh—slow down a little, girl," she asked Fidella, drawing her weight and the reins back a little as a cue.</p><p>Fidella—who had already been asked to trot and then slowed to a walk about four consecutive times now—did as requested, but not without turning her head to give Cassandra an unimpressed look and raised brow.</p><p>Cass flinched a bit at the expression even her <em>horse</em> was giving her, forcing herself to relax just a little in the saddle and give Fidella an apologetic smile in return.</p><p>"I know; I'm sorry," she said, glancing sideways and letting out a short breath in hopes it would dispel some of the nervousness that had been building in her for weeks now.</p><p>She dropped her hands to the saddle horn, glancing off to the side in uncertainty. The trunks of tall trees and a miniature forest of undergrowth passed by at a slower pace now. "I want to get there too. I'm just... still... trying to figure out how this is going to go."</p><p>Could she just <em>show up</em> here all of the sudden? She hadn't been back to Corona since she'd left, and that was what—two years ago? Two and a half? It had been <em>way</em> too long since she'd even sent a letter, she thought with a familiar twinge of guilt. After an inexcusably long time of putting off writing, anything she could think of to say sounded inadequate.</p><p>
  <em>What's it going to be like? Can I just waltz in?</em>
</p><p>Fidella made a whuffing noise of reluctant acceptance, politely avoiding rolling her eyes as she looked forward again.</p><p>Out of the corner of her eye, Cass saw a small dark shape swoop closer against the sky, and she glanced up hopefully. Sure enough, Owl circled overhead, giving a small hoot to catch her attention.</p><p>Cassandra, relieved at his return and more grateful for a distraction than she liked to admit, looked up to catch his eye and held an arm up for him to land on.</p><p>A little smile pulled at her face as Owl tucked his wings in and <em>dove</em>, speeding toward her and only pulling up to land on her arm at the last second.</p><p>Cassandra bit the corner of her lip as his talons hooked through her sleeve and the tips dug into her arm, but she was used to it at this point. It was a small price to pay for having such a faithful friend. And not having to wear a falconer's glove all the time. Her old gauntlet-and-glove combo had all but worn through, worn and torn until she reluctantly opted for a more comfortable pair of black riding gloves.</p><p>"How's it looking?" she asked him, slowing Fidella's walk even further.</p><p>Owl, unimpressed by her eagerness to stall, gave a few low hoots that amounted to <em>Different. But fine. What are you expecting?</em></p><p>Fidella, evidently not liking the very slow speed requested of her, glanced over her shoulder as she walked, mirroring Owl's expression. Cass tried not to give them a defensive look, but well—they deserved it.</p><p>"I <em>know</em>, I know," she muttered, trying to maintain eye contact with them, because she was <em>not</em> going to be guilt-tripped by <em>animals</em>. "Okay? Fine. Yes. I am taking longer than necessary. I can admit that. Don't be so supportive all at once."</p><p>Both of her animal companions just raised a brow at her, evidently seeing little problem with their opinions on her actions.</p><p>Cass huffed slightly under her breath in unsurprised embarrassment, holding her arm a bit higher to lift Owl upward.</p><p>"I'll meet you in there," she muttered, though she didn't have the heart to really sound annoyed. Owl gave her one last judgmental look before spreading his wings, and she launched him upward as he took to the skies.</p><p>Still, she halted Fidella almost subconsciously as she mentally ran over a checklist. A somewhat dumb checklist, one that was far more sentimental than remotely practical, but somehow, it wasn't <em>quite</em> as important that she had her practical gear.</p><p>Her lady-in-waiting headpiece had gotten torn enough that it no longer stayed wrapped around her arm. It was so shredded by now that it was hardly easy to repurpose it, but in a test of needlework that used all of her Crowley-instilled skills, she'd used it to patch a tear—rather, a slash from someone's cutlass—in her sleeve at the shoulder.</p><p><em>Too close a call</em>, she decided, still able to feel tender scars on her skin when she swallowed.</p><p>Her gaze flickered down to her coin pouch, the one that she'd worn on her belt ever since she could remember. It was oddly lumpy, now, filled with beads and a stone rather than coins.</p><p>There was a low snort, and Cassandra jerked her gaze up to meet Fidella's. Fidella raised an eyebrow and flicked an ear, snorting in question as if to ask <em>Are we going now?</em></p><p>Cassandra tried to look annoyed at the attitude, though it probably didn't work. If a <em>horse</em> had a valid point, it may have been worth accepting it.</p><p>"Yes, we're <em>still</em> going," she answered with a sigh, picking up the reins again.</p><p>She could've sworn she saw a smirk that said <em>Good</em> on Fidella's face when the horse turned to face forward again—but it was hard to dwell on it when Fidella gathered herself with immense force onto her haunches and sprung into a rapid canter.</p><p>Cass, who had not been remotely seated well for the sudden jerk forward, scrambled to catch her balance and lean forward instead of back, grabbing Fidella's braided mane for support.</p><p>"<em>Whoa whoa WHOA girl</em>, slow down!"</p><p>The words were whipped out of her mouth as Fidella surged forward into a gallop, and whether she could hear her rider's shouting over the pounding of hooves and rustling of the forest leaves was hard to tell.</p><p>Cass, heart pounding a thousand times harder than it had from her nervousness earlier, forced her body forward into a rather sloppy riding position. Trees and knolls and even a startled deer blurred by, and once Cass was able to blink the dampness out of her eyes and dislodge her heart from her throat, she adjusted her seating and half-heartedly tugged on the reins.</p><p>Fidella, whose general sense of obedience Cassandra had always been grateful for, only ignored her cues for a minute—then, she slowed to a trot for a bit and then a walk when they were still a short distance from the gate. It gave Cass time to both glare at her horse and recollect herself, though neither did much to quell the nervous excitement she'd gotten from <em>that</em> rush of adrenaline on top of everything.</p><p>Running a hand through her now very messy hair (she <em>needed</em> a haircut while she was here; as oddly refreshing as it felt to feel curls brush past the knobby bone at the top of her spine), Cassandra took a deep breath and let it out.</p><p>"<em>Thanks</em>, girl," she said in the least impressed voice she could muster. It earned her an equally unimpressed nicker that would've said <em>You're welcome</em> to anyone in any tongue.</p><p>The trees grew thicker for a moment as they approached the kingdom wall—then, they began to dissipate altogether, morphing into a broad grassy field that stretched for miles along the forest.</p><p>The muted gold wall that marked Corona's borders stood tall and proud as ever, running north and south for as far as the eye could see. In the center, arching over the now well-worn road that went into the kingdom, was an entryway—an archway much like the one that led into the castle courtyard, but much bigger. The actual gates were iron bars, wide open and unobtrusive. It didn't look like they'd been shut in a while, if ever.</p><p>"Still not used to having a gate like that," she murmured to Fidella, who snorted softly in agreement.</p><p>She passed a small shack as they drew closer, a shabby wooden one that had probably been one of Equis' old guard posts. It had been deserted, all the times she'd explored out here—King Trevor had long ago withdrawn every guard in his entire kingdom to be posted at his <em>ridiculously</em> overprotected castle—but now? Corona's new entryway must have attracted more travelers than the land was used to. The shack had apparently become a trading post in her absence, with a sign designating it as such nailed above the door and barrels of goods lined up outside.</p><p>Atop the pinnacle of the wood-shingled roof was the crooked, rusty old weathervane that had been there ever since she could remember. It creaked a bit in the breeze, and swiveled until it pointed toward the Old Corona Gate.</p><p>A smile tugged at Cassandra's lips, and most of the fluttering in her chest was replaced by a steady warmth.</p><p>"This is it, girl," she said softly. The sound was drowned out by hoofbeats, and she let herself smile more fully for a moment.</p><p>"We're home."</p><p>—</p><p>She hadn't even gotten through the <em>gate</em> when there was an explosion.</p><p>For a split second, Fidella spooked and Cassandra jumped, clutching to the horse's shoulders in an attempt to maintain her balance. The explosion had come from a short distance away from the road, and probably had nothing to do with her arrival, but it made her freeze all the same. As much as she'd tried for <em>months</em> to ignore how most of the people here would surely see her, there was still a part of her that expected to be accused of treason the second she walked in the gate.</p><p>The second passed, however, and the few guards stationed at the gate looked uncertain but otherwise unsurprised. None of them spared her a second glance as Fidella hesitantly continued the walk in—most of them were too busy checking inventory with the driver of a large cart loaded with bags. Cass flipped the hood of her cloak up over her head regardless, not having wanted questioned for riding into the kingdom wearing it, but not wanting to be recognized by everyone now, either.</p><p>She and Fidella stared at the guards cautiously for a moment, then turned their heads in unison to look back at the column of smoke and steam from its source a few fields away. It came from the other side of Old Corona's castle, it seemed—and judging by the way a few bystanders observed this for a moment and then went back to work, it was far from abnormal.</p><p>"Well, I guess we know who's home," Cassandra murmured with a small smile as she looked back up at the billowing smoke, odd fondness stirring inside her at the sight. She must've been on the road too long—even <em>this</em> felt like home.</p><p>Cass sat up straight and clucked her tongue, tugging at the reins a bit to steer them toward the source of the smoke. Fidella, in a subtle display of happiness Cass could only remember her reserving for herself or Max, arched her neck a little and picked up her feet higher than usual, heading toward the field at an eager walk.</p><p>The few villagers that were on the path paid her little mind as they headed up the winding path lined with wooden fencing and fruit trees, and Cassandra slowly felt herself relax a little. If no one minded her being <em>here</em>, then, well—she'd deal with the crowded streets of Corona when she came to them.</p><p>They passed by the bridge over the creek (creek, or had it been a moat when Old Corona was still Corona?), only stopping when they reached the short fence lining Quirin's pastureland. If anyone here had gotten livestock at any point, it probably hadn't lasted long—the top bar of the fence was down in multiple places, and Fidella stepped over with ease.</p><p>There were two figures by the metal machine that sat pouring smoke into the sky in the middle of the pasture, but for the moment, Cass was looking down to make sure Fidella didn't catch any hooves on the broken fence. Not that it was necessary—Fidella was sure-footed and surprisingly agile on her feet. Once they were clear, she looked back up.</p><p>Varian—it had to be Varian, but geez, he'd gotten <em>tall</em>—and Quirin stood there, their backs to her, watching with a bit of awkward helplessness in their posture as they watched the smoke billow upwards in a column that drifted sideways in the cool breeze.</p><p>"...will be honest; that should not have been possible," she could hear Varian saying in a rather deadpan voice as she drew closer. "It... couldn't have leaked through two <em>separate</em> pipes, right?"</p><p>Quirin shook his head, baffled, and murmured something Cass couldn't quite make out.</p><p>Neither of them noticed her even when she was a handful of strides away—so she stopped Fidella and flipped down her hood, smirking a little.</p><p>"Need any help with that?" Cass called to them, tone deliberately very casual.</p><p>It was amusing, seeing the differences between Varian and his dad. Varian's body language was a <em>bit</em> more subtle than the almost comical way it used to be—but he still jumped a bit to plant his feet to the sides, and his back still arched a bit so his chest was puffed out, and his hands still suddenly jerked up as if preparing to need to catch something, while beside him, Quirin only stiffened.</p><p>Varian whirled around far faster than his dad did, too. His eyes widened as he stared at her for a few moments—then, they lit up.</p><p>"Cass!" Varian exclaimed with a broad grin, his hands <em>still</em> shooting up as if to reach out to her. He laughed in gleeful disbelief, only stopping a second to look down and unfasten his soot-covered welding apron, tossing it on one of several crates beside them. "<em>Hey!</em> You're back!"</p><p>Even as she had to return his smile at his obvious excitement, her gaze flitted uncomfortably to Quirin. The man looked tense and drawn as he observed her, but not <em>exactly</em> disapproving, so Cass tried to keep her eyes down respectfully and give him a small nod. If someone had mind-controlled <em>her</em>, she'd probably be much more bitter than he looked at the moment; she'd give him that.</p><p>An odd look crossed Varian's face as he dusted his gloves off, and her attention was drawn back to him.</p><p>"Okay, so, <em>first of all</em>," he began, eyebrows arched and knit together in the middle, shaking a finger at her as he began to stalk toward her. Cassandra blinked and tensed in her seat, not having expected to be chewed out by <em>Varian</em>, of all people, but his tone was still so friendly that she was left oddly intrigued.</p><p>His attempt at a reprimanding look quickly started to dissolve, however, and a smile twitched at the corner of his lips. "You have been gone <em>way</em> too long, and we have all missed you a <em>lot</em>," he finished, folding his arms and still trying to keep his serious look as he grinned up at her. "What gives? Everybody loved your letters!"</p><p>"I know, I know," Cass replied with a chuckle and a smile she looked away briefly to hide, because something about someone else trying not to grin wildly was contagious. She put one hand up in surrender, meeting his eyes again with a smile. "I'm bad at keeping in touch."</p><p>"Well, we missed you, Cass," he replied with a wry grin, though his eyes hadn't lost their excitement.</p><p>Fidella tossed her chin up just slightly, stepping forward and gently head-butting Varian's chest as she nickered a greeting. Varian's whole face lit up again, and he scratched her forehead where the pale color of her muzzle turned tan.</p><p>"And Fidella!" Varian laughed, taking the horse's huge head in his hands and lightly touching their foreheads together, grinning brightly like she was an old friend. "Hey! Yeah, I missed you, too."</p><p>Fidella swished her tail, clearly pleased with this, and prodded her nose softly against his chest and face as if checking him over to make sure he was okay. Varian chuckled, drawing back and playfully pushing her nose away to ward off the tickling.</p><p>Cass cocked an eyebrow as Fidella snorted happily, flicking her ears with a pleased look in her eye.</p><p>"Sheesh," she chuckled. "What'd you do, feed her treats that whole time I was gone?"</p><p>
  <span>Varian shook his head, giving the horse one final scratch behind the ear. "Nah, she just let me ride her a lot.”</span>
</p><p>It was easy to forget, sometimes, how she'd missed nearly a year in the lives of her horse and her friends. She could never have <em>told</em> Fidella her plans back then in the Dark Kingdom, because as deep as their bond had been, a horse on the guard was always faithful to the Crown—but it felt a little better to know that she'd found someone to spend time with in her absence.</p><p>"Ruddiger was starting to think you'd forgotten about us," he teased, narrowing his eyes with a wry grin as he came up by Fidella's shoulder to speak to Cass better. Before she could respond, Varian's eyes widened in realization, and he whirled around to shout toward the house. "'<em>EY! RUDDIGER! Cassandra's back!"</em></p><p>"Sure, <em>Ruddiger</em> was thinking that," Cass teased. Varian, hands still cupped to his mouth from shouting, shot her a playful sideways glare. There was no response from the house, and Varian seemed to give up fairly quickly with a roll of his eyes, unimpressed by the absent raccoon.</p><p>"Heads up," Cassandra called, and Varian moved out of the way just in time for her to dismount where he had been standing.</p><p>She landed in front of him, and was struck for a split second how strange it was to have to look <em>up</em> slightly to see eye-to-eye with him. (Along with it came the vaguely uncomfortable sensation of <em>personal space; I know you know better than Rapunzel</em>—but she checked herself. Part of it was probably the princess rubbing off on everyone she knew, and part of it was probably just the increased personal space bubble that came with traveling by oneself for so long.) He seemed to notice both things the same instant she did, and took a quick step backward to give her her space—though his reaction to their respective heights went from mildly surprised to pleased.</p><p>Varian grinned and stuck out a hand, offering it to shake in an enthusiastic greeting—but Cassandra just snorted, shoving the strangeness aside and using the hand to pull him in for a brief hug.</p><p>She could, admittedly, see why Eugene had done that. It was fun, if just to see the look of complete surprise on the other person's face.</p><p>"Wha—ah, hi," Varian managed, just barely returning the gesture, and then seemingly only out of instinct. He did so very lightly, like he was at a loss for what to do with his arms. (In a <em>hug</em>. It was ridiculous.) Cass chuckled and drew back, rolling her eyes with a flicker of a smile before turning to address Quirin.</p><p>"Need some help out here?" she asked, cocking a brow at the smoke that still trailed high into the sky from the remnants of the exploded invention.</p><p>For a moment, Quirin merely regarded her with an unreadable expression. Varian, who quickly came up beside her, glanced to him with a pleading desperation in his eyes—something like <em>please Dad, don't say anything to her face</em>—though he'd already stood between the two of them, as if hoping to mediate between them without words.</p><p>All at once, Cassandra felt the hesitant happiness inside her shrivel and knot up, shrinking to a familiar empty dread. She hadn't minded the thought of seeing <em>Varian</em> before she went to the castle—he'd long since insisted over and over again that he'd forgiven her and only hoped she could forgive him—but Quirin? Maybe he had come to a different conclusion. She certainly wouldn't blame him.</p><p>Quirin's lips pursed, and one corner twitched into what might have been a barely-acceptant smile—but it still didn't seem to reach his eyes, and it still didn't seem to rid him of the uneasiness that came from standing so close to her.</p><p>"I believe we will be fine," he replied, in an even voice that didn't relay much emotion. "Your journey was well?"</p><p>Cassandra tried her best to keep her posture respectful and at least somewhat unassuming, because something about Quirin told her that he saw respect as an honorable trait above most else.</p><p>"Yeah, it was," Cassandra replied with a small flash of a smile. "Thanks. ...King Edmund sends his best regards. And Adira says hi."</p><p>Literally—she'd said, in her usual mysterious voice, <em>tell them I said hi.</em> Adira still confused her. Edmund and Quirin spoke like they were from some noble historical period, and Adira spoke <em>very</em> casually when she wasn't being vague. As for Hector, well...</p><p>"...Hector said that he hopes you're, uh—and this is verbatim—'feeding that scrawny kid of yours enough'."</p><p>Varian smiled softly at this, a fond look in his eyes. From what she remembered, he had been thrilled to hang out with his 'relatives' while they were in Corona. To Cass' inward relief, she could see a ghost of a reluctant smile on Quirin's face as well. Hector's way of caring seemed to begin with insisting that he didn't care, before awkwardly clarifying that he might not want anything <em>bad</em> to happen to them, either. Surprisingly, Adira had guarded her long enough during her time at the Dark Kingdom for Hector to relent from wanting to attack her, too.</p><p>"And apparently you are," she still continued, glancing to Varian with a raised eyebrow. "Break six feet already?"</p><p>He brightened up, clearly happy to talk about that. "Almost!" he exclaimed, before his voice grew just a little deadpan and he smirked wryly. "I know. I'm like, at Dad's <em>chin</em> height. It's unbelievable."</p><p>"I don't think you're gonna get quite his height," Cass remarked, glancing between the hulking man and his much smaller son. She could only guess that Varian took after his mother much more than Quirin.</p><p>Varian made a face and shrugged, waving a hand as if it was a so-so possibility.</p><p>Cass chuckled, before venturing a look behind the pair at the large bronze contraption that was half-buried in the field.</p><p>"So what was this supposed to be?" she asked, furrowing her brow a bit as she tried to imagine what all the brass pipes running down into the ground were for.</p><p>A glance at Varian revealed that he'd assumed his <em>explanation</em> look—folded arms, a half-shrug, and a matter-of-fact tone.</p><p>"Oh, <em>that</em> is a freezeproof irrigation system that froze about halfway through the winter," he explained nonchalantly. "I'm gonna assume from that last test that the core pump still hasn't unfrozen yet. I am seriously considering blowing it up on purpose."</p><p>His tone didn't <em>quite</em> change at the last sentence, but he was obviously <em>so done</em> that Cassandra couldn't help but snort. "Well, I call dibs on seeing <em>that</em>."</p><p>"Have—Have you seen Rapunzel yet?" Varian asked, eyes wide with curiosity. Cass shook her head, and his eyes got wider as he grinned. "Ha! They are going to be <em>so</em> excited. Hey, maybe I can—"</p><p>He stopped mid-sentence and glanced to the machine in the middle of the field, which still had caps and pieces of pipes scattered around it from where they'd blown off. He faltered, trailing off with guilt creeping into his expression.</p><p>"...Well, I, uh... gotta clean up my mess first," he finished, scratching the back of his neck and glancing away. Still, he looked back up at her, hope evident in his eyes. "But maybe afterward I can catch up with you guys at the castle? I <em>know</em> Rapunzel's gonna be asking for some stories."</p><p>Cassandra hesitated for a moment, uncertain of how to respond. She nearly still offered to help, but Quirin had already declined that. And was it right to sweep in and help uninvited, when she owed it to her friends to go see them at the castle?</p><p>Quirin, to her surprise, saved her the trouble. He caught his son's gaze and shook his head.</p><p>"Go see your friends, son," he said with a tired smile. "I'll take care of this."</p><p><em>Stay safe</em>, was the unspoken stipulation written in his eyes that even Cass could see. His gaze shifted to her, and the message there morphed into a weary <em>please, be safe.</em></p><p>When <em>be safe</em> meant <em>be safe enough for others to hang around you,</em> you'd definitely left a grim impression. Cass tried to pretend it didn't leave her throat dry when she tried to swallow.</p><p>"You ever get a horse?" she asked Varian, her mind painfully aware of the subject change, even if in reality it was a natural thing to say next.</p><p>Varian, who up until that point had been having a silent <em>are you sure? That's a big mess</em> debate with his father via his worried expressions, finally seemed to reluctantly give up. He blinked once or twice, then quickly turned to her with his eyebrows up. "We did! Rapunzel found us one. Could you hang out just a sec? I'll grab him."</p><p>Cassandra was left alone with Quirin—something Varian seemed to realize when he was almost at the carriage house door, judging by how he suddenly stopped and looked over his shoulder with an apologetic expression, but he hurried in anyway.</p><p>Quirin watched him leave, and then glanced to her and Fidella. Cass swallowed, putting one hand on Fidella's neck for support.</p><p>"I... want to apologize, again, for... what I did," she said quietly, because she certainly owed the last member of the Brotherhood a better apology like she’d given the others. "And for the trouble I caused both of you guys. I know this is... so late, but there's any work I can do to make up for it, I will."</p><p>The man just watched her, eyes tired and unreadable, and Cass almost flinched. Quirin was... reserved, to say the least. For someone like Varian, who wore his heart on his sleeve and would be excited to show a complete stranger the anatomy of it if they so much as seemed like they might be interested, it had to be a little hard. At least she and her father had always thought similarly—they wanted things clear, and quick, with enough detail to be on the same page about it and no more.</p><p>"I managed long before Varian was old enough to do the work he does now," Quirin finally replied, his tone low but almost conversational. The look in his eyes shifted, and suddenly, he didn't look nearly so unkind. "But... I do appreciate the offer."</p><p>Cass managed a little smile, and Quirin <em>almost</em> returned it. It occurred to her, probably belatedly, that although she had snatched an object of celestial power and destroyed one of Corona's towns in her anger, she wasn't the first person to do it.</p><p>She almost didn't notice that Varian was back until she heard the thunder of hoofbeats behind her.</p><p>"Race ya!" he called, riding in a playful half-circle behind her on a dark brown horse.</p><p>Cass laughed as she mounted a prancing Fidella, shaking her head.</p><p>"Only halfway!" she called after him, partly because she wanted to show Quirin she <em>did</em> have some restraint, and partly because she still wasn't in that much of a hurry. "And only once we get to the edge of town."</p><p>A glance at Quirin revealed that his expression had softened a bit, and he'd quit scrutinizing them in favor of wiping his sooty gloves on a nearby rag. When he saw her looking at him, he lifted a hand in a wave.</p><p>A rush of the nervousness she'd felt earlier returned at the gesture. Try as she might to squelch it completely, <em>something</em> inside of her had latched onto the idea of being forgiven by the people she knew, and it was more cautiously hopeful than she liked.</p><p>Varian had laughed and relented, slowing his horse as Cass turned Fidella back toward the pasture fence. She urged her into a canter, and Fidella jumped the short fence with ease.</p><p>Still, she was nothing if not one for a competition. As soon as they'd trotted for a few moments down the road—and apparently Varian could <em>not</em> ride a trot at <em>all</em>, so it was only polite to suggest a change of pace—Cass couldn't help but smirk as she amended her last statement.</p><p>"The only question is..." she began innocently, and it was surprising how fast Varian gave her a sideways look. "...who'll get to the <em>edge of town</em> first?"</p><p>With that, Fidella took her cue and bolted, galloping down the thankfully-empty road with long strides that had won many small-town races during their travels.</p><p>She could barely hear Varian's shouts of protest from behind her, partly because of the thundering of hooves and partly because he was laughing in excitement. A second set of galloping hoofbeats joined the first, and Cassandra let Fidella stretch out her neck, pounding the ground and nearly <em>flying</em> down the hill.</p><p>The breeze blew in circles around them, as if even it was excited that she was home.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Aaaaannnd we're off! Guess who Varian's horse is; win a prize!</p><p>I'm not sure who to credit this to, but I <i>love</i> what was pointed out about the symbolism in the The End painting at the end of the finale—around the words, there are three little painted birds. Someone said that the two birds sitting close together are Rapunzel and Eugene, and the third one flying away is Cass. (And can I just say that the bird imagery throughout the series is amazing? During Season 1, Rapunzel painted flying birds all over her room, because she yearned to fly away. In Season 2, she almost flew too long and too far, and came to the realization that there was a chance she might not come back. You've got Frederic and his egg-collecting hobby, where eggs are what protects the baby chick before it can fly, and Rapunzel settling down in her home, and then Cass flying away. I like to think that after she goes where the wind takes her, Cass will fly back home too, someday.)</p><p>Also - the "Corona walls" seem to mark Corona's borders, and Rapunzel refers to Equis as "the kingdom next door", which leads me to believe that the wilderness outside the Corona walls is probably the unsettled land of southern Equis. But... can you picture Trevor finding out that Frederic took the legendary Sundrop flower from his kingdom? I don't think that would go over well. XD My headcanon at the moment is that the wilderness near the coast is either a sort of commonland, where both kingdoms can use it if they like, or that Trevor traded some of his empty land for a steady supply of top-of-the-line seal chow from Corona's fishermen. I think that would make it an outlying territory of Corona, but probably not part of the kingdom itself. If that's how Ye Olden Kingdom Property works. Just a thought!</p><p><i>Also,</i> also—I haven't seen anyone talk about it, but I think it's reasonable to assume that Old Corona was the original Corona before the new castle was built on the island. If that's the case, I'm pretty sure that Varian and Quirin's house is the old castle. All the other houses in Old Corona are wood and thatch—while Varian's house has a bridge, a gatehouse, a stone tower, and a huge shingled roof.</p><p>Anyways! There's not a whole lot of Cass/Varian content on here (at least, there wasn't not too long ago—we've been getting a lot of great content lately and it's been awesome!), and there's even fewer fics that take the time to present it as something that really could potentially happen in canon. My own parents are even further apart in age than Varian and Cass are, so I've never really minded age differences as long as they're done respectfully. It helps when they start with a good, foundational friendship first! I'm a big friend-shipper too, and I mostly just really love their dynamic. They have the ability to understand each other in a way a lot of the other characters don't. (And I don't know about you guys, but the fact that we got the Cassandrium being the focal point of Cass' new outfit AND Varian becoming a literal venomous cobra man in the finale? That certainly didn't <i>dis</i>courage me from thinking that these two have some future potential. XD)</p><p>All that said, this ship is... <i>incredibly</i> slowburn (the way I picture it, anyway!), and this is just a piece of one possible take on it. It's mostly friendshippy, if that's your cup of tea! (Or hot chocolate. Ironically, tea is not my cup of tea!)</p><p>Feedback is very much appreciated! Chapter 2 will be posted as soon as I get it polished up. Stay tuned! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In Ingvarr, the winds had always blown south.</p><p><em>It blows in from the North</em>, the women-soldiers she'd met there had said, with grave seriousness that almost made her miss being the serious one at the castle. In Ingvarr, <em>she</em> was seen as the one with an often-irreverent sense of humor. <em>The storms cross our lands and continue south.</em></p><p>On Arshanga, the winds blew wherever they wanted during the day—but from evening to morning, that meant north.</p><p><em>Perfect for sail-gliding!</em> Willow—<em>Aunt</em> Willow, the woman had insisted—had exclaimed. Cassandra still wasn't sure how she'd managed to run into the Queen's oddball sister halfway across the world. <em>Small world, huh? Whattaya say I show you what Darianna taught me about flying? The view is always phenomenal from the air.</em></p><p>From the Dark Kingdom all the way to south Equis, the weathervanes all swiveled and swerved until they ended up pointing west. Whether it was by coincidence or weather patterns, magic or design, she couldn't say—but she'd still noticed it.</p><p><em>They always point home</em>, a little part of Cassandra had noted, and although the thought was stupid and too sappy to acknowledge as being something she actually believed, she came to look for it. Nearly every time, it was true, and it sparked a warmth in her chest that made her smile.</p><p>(Something she'd discovered on her travels—which felt a little ridiculous, but more than a little freeing—was that she could <em>technically</em> smile whenever she felt like it. In far-off kingdoms and empty forests and bustling foreign towns, no one paid any attention to her. No one poked fun at her if she seemed happy; no one scrutinized her or expected her to act a certain way. She was a stranger in those places, and no one ever assumed they knew her more than they actually did.)</p><p>But here, now that she <em>was</em> home—if Corona would still let her call it that—standing on the wide stone road in front of the castle, the new weathervane on top of Feldspar's rebuilt shop felt off.</p><p>It was pointed <em>pretty much</em> west, yes—but the breeze was blowing in her face, channeled down the road from the sea, and something had to be wrong with that weathervane, because the wind here was definitely blowing from the opposite direction.</p><p>"Is his weathervane stuck?" Cassandra asked as they walked, as soon as Varian paused his enthusiastic tour of what all had been rebuilt here while she'd been gone.</p><p>Varian turned to look up at the silhouette of a rooster against the sky, squinting in the bright sunlight. "Hm?" he asked, choosing to pull down his shiny new goggles instead of waiting for his eyes to adjust. He pushed them back up just as quickly with a thoughtful nod. "Oh—yeah; has to be. The wind never comes from inland. I mean," he chuckled dryly, "I don't think even <em>Zhan Tiri's</em> blizzard was able to go against the naturally-occurring wind patterns for more than a minute or two."</p><p>Beside them, both of the horses they were walking snorted bitterly at the memory, earning them a glance from Cassandra.</p><p>Varian's horse, as it had turned out, was the same dark brown palace horse she'd taken when she'd brought him to the wreckage of Rapunzel's old tower. The horse clearly remembered her, judging by the offended and incredibly sad looks it kept giving her.</p><p><em>Yeah, once Rapunzel found out we always walked to Corona, she wouldn't say no</em>, Varian had explained once they'd slowed the race due to his horse throwing a shoe, as he pried a broken nail out of the horse's hoof with pliers. Even as he'd been bent over oddly, the horse's foreleg clamped between his knees to hold it steady, his smile at the princess' generosity was almost guilty. <em>This one kinda picked </em>me<em> out. He kept trying to make sure I was okay.</em></p><p>Cassandra had felt a weird pang of respect for all parties involved at that. The horse especially, if she were honest—she'd assumed it wouldn't want anything to do with either of them after she'd set it loose to go home.</p><p>But now, in the sunny streets of a rebuilt Corona, she was <em>surrounded</em> by people and animals who she'd once assumed wouldn't want anything to do with her after what she'd done—and not for the first time, she felt bewildered by how much wholehearted forgiveness some people had.</p><p>
  <em>Most people... don't have that.</em>
</p><p>Only when she finally noticed a few lingering stares and whispers from people on the street did she realize she'd forgotten to put her hood back up. Her hand twitched to fix that, but something about Varian's still-excited expression as he walked alongside her, brightening up whenever he glanced at her and saw her still listening, made her pause.</p><p>"The constant wind off the ocean has been perfect for my experiments with turbine power," Varian explained, eyes lighting up when she gave him a look of curiosity. "I'm actually working on a way to <em>store</em> that power as potential energy. Possibly with water, since, y'know, there's a <em>little</em> bit of that to work with around here."</p><p>If it wasn't fresh water a person was after, there was no shortage of it around Corona. Even here, in the middle of the hustle of the city streets, she could hear the waves crashing on the outer banks of the island if she paused to listen—waves from who knew how far away, that ended up here.</p><p><em>The wind brings them here too</em>, she thought.</p><p>"What would you use it for?" Cass asked, letting Fidella move forward a bit so she was mostly hidden from bystanders by the horse's large shoulders and forelegs. Fidella gave her a glance of concern, but did her best to subtly conceal her from view.</p><p>Varian gave a half-shrug, though his eyes were dancing with possibilities.</p><p>"Oh, anything, if I could get enough maintainable power going," he replied easily, and Cass was pretty sure he hadn't stopped smiling since she'd arrived. "The weight of the water in addition to the turbine power will hopefully cause enough pressure to be transferable to a more practical application—like, how a water wheel powers a mill. Although, if it <em>doesn't</em>, it may be more efficient to continue my experiments with using steam to build that same pressure in a smaller space. Unfortunately, that would mean I'd need purified water to prevent mineral buildup, and I was hoping to develop something that could run on local seawater with little to no additional intervention. Though a seawater purification system <em>has</em> been on my list, and I'd like to look into the theory of using hydrostatic pressure to reverse the osmotic process as a filtering technique—"</p><p>She was following all this, really, even though her mind was trying very hard to drift into blankness toward the end. Varian seemed to notice, and he cut himself off with an embarrassed chuckle.</p><p>"—Although... you probably don't want to hear about all that," he finished, a lopsided grin creeping into his face as he glanced away quietly. "Sorry. So how have your adventures been?"</p><p>She wanted to say something about how she didn't mind, but her brain had successfully forgotten half of what he'd just said and she wasn't keen on admitting that out loud. "Not bad. Just wait till Rapunzel drags every detail out of me; I've got some <em>stories</em>. But no, keep going. What else have you been up to?"</p><p>Evidently, inviting Varian to talk got you a science lecture—but <em>asking</em> him to talk made him a little self-conscious. He grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, turning his head away with a shrug.</p><p>"Oh, well, just—doin' my part," he muttered modestly, as if he hadn't turned his life around in record time and rebuilt a portal to a netherworld last time she'd seen him. "Helpin' my dad; working at the castle. Things have been pretty good! Dad and I had a great harvest last year. You'll have to come try some of my famous Old Corona apple pie sometime; rumor has it that it's the best in the kingdom.”</p><p>He continued on for a minute, and as they reached the part of town that had <em>definitely</em> been polished and rebuilt, Fidella suddenly stepped out of the way so Cass could see.</p><p>Cass couldn't help but pause for a moment and blink, eyes wide.</p><p>She was lost to the world for a moment as she looked around, because Corona's capital in the springtime was a sight to behold. Everywhere, flowerboxes were brimming with bright green foliage and bursting with early flowers, filling the island with a pleasant scent without all the pollen of later in the year. The sunlight caught every surface and made it brighter, and though so many shops and homes had been repaired and rebuilt, a rush of nostalgia washed over her as she looked at all the familiar facets of the city where she'd grown up.</p><p>Belatedly, she realized that Varian had fallen silent. She winced at herself and turned to apologize for not listening—but he was just watching <em>her</em>, looking like he had also gotten distracted.</p><p>"...What?" Cass asked hesitantly, raising one eyebrow a bit in uncertainty.</p><p>His eyes widened and refocused in an instant, and he chuckled in embarrassment as he looked briefly away.</p><p>"You're back," he explained simply as he looked back to her with a grin, as if that alone was the reason for every happy thing in the world. "And, uh, you’re—yeah! You're back."</p><p>It was probably her hair. She really needed to cut it. Still, she shook her head in amusement.</p><p>"Not permanently," Cass amended with a tiny smile, though when she glanced sideways at the sunny streets of a nearly rebuilt-from-the-ground castle town, it did give her a pang of longing inside. "But I wanted to visit."</p><p>Varian went quiet for a moment, pursing his lips with eyes full of curiosity. "How long do you think you'll be here?"</p><p>That was a question she hadn't answered for herself, even though the part of her that had always planned out some semblance of an itinerary wanted to figure it out as soon as possible. One step at a time, she'd figured.</p><p>"Haven't decided yet. Not forever."</p><p>Varian, who had always seemed to have three ideas ready long before they were ever needed, looked lost in serious thought for a moment before brightening up a little.</p><p>"Well—hey! The Princess' birthday is in a few weeks," he said, and Cass had to furrow her brows because <em>how had it been a full year since the last one?</em> She needed a chart that could keep track of more than just the calendar system of the Seven Kingdoms. Further lands had timekeeping systems that she'd still been trying to get used to. "Maybe you could... at least stay for the lanterns?"</p><p>"...Sure. Why not?" Cass decided after a moment of thought, glancing to Fidella with a small smile. "We've been seeing the lanterns a month or two late out on the road. It's crazy how far they can travel."</p><p>Fidella snorted absentmindedly in agreement as she walked alongside them, though her attention seemed to be elsewhere—her head kept bobbing and turning toward the stables, nostrils flaring as she sniffed the air.</p><p>Cassandra chuckled, giving her a slap on the shoulder. "Alright, go see Max," she teased, and the startled look Fidella gave her was almost sheepish. "Tell him hi for me. We'll be with Rapunzel."</p><p>"I, uh—better get this guy to Xavier, actually," Varian interjected, reaching over to scratch his horse's neck. "But yes! I will be there afterward!"</p><p>Cassandra blinked, trying to reconcile this with her mental map of Corona from... well, years ago now, she supposed.</p><p>"...Didn't we pass Xavier's?" she still asked, glancing over her shoulder with eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Did he move his shop?"</p><p>Varian looked almost startled, and for a moment, Cass thought he just hadn't noticed that he'd missed it. However, just as quickly, he ducked his head a bit with a sheepish smile.</p><p>"It's, uh... it's not that far."</p><p>He'd gone right past Xavier's because he'd wanted to walk with her to the castle. Cassandra almost rolled her eyes in reluctant amusement.</p><p>Varian's sheepish grin grew a bit, and Cass got the feeling he knew he'd been caught. "Sorry," he said quickly, before looking up ahead of them and waving a hand in a grand gesture. "But look!"</p><p>Cass turned to see the gate as they rounded the last bend to the castle, and stopped in surprise.</p><p>The castle's courtyard walls had been almost <em>completely</em> redone. Where there had once been imposing gold stone run through by black rocks, there were now gardens and fountains all around an enormous mural on the rebuilt wall. Painted birds in dozens of colors flew and perched along curling vines, nearly blending with the ivies and broad stone flowerbeds. The Corona sun was inset in stone above the gateway, and all the birds were painted with subtle lighting from it, as if the crest's light was casting their feathers a faint gold.</p><p>"Wow," Cass remarked despite herself, eyebrows raised high, because somehow, Rapunzel had made <em>this</em> display convey more strength than the old.</p><p>Varian, who had taken all of three slow steps away from her and was now lagging behind his horse, had paused to watch her reaction. She didn't quite notice until he spoke up.</p><p>"I know, right?" he piped in enthusiastically. "Rapunzel finished that last year. All the gardens are finally filling up the beds. They should bloom in a few weeks."</p><p>His horse was heading toward Xavier's smithy on its own at this point, its ears sideways in annoyance as it kept an eye on its person. It favored its right foreleg a bit, having to step carefully on the hoof that lacked a shoe, but mostly seemed unhappy with Varian's reluctance to leave.</p><p>She cast Varian an amused sideways look. "I think your horse is leaving without you."</p><p>Varian paused with a blank, bewildered expression, then whirled around to see what she meant.</p><p>"Uh—right!" he observed, eyebrows up as he moved to follow the horse, but faltered to talk to her another moment. "Yes he is. I... will be right back." He waved over his shoulder and broke into jog to catch up with his horse, calling over his shoulder, "Don't wait up!"</p><p><em>Don't wait</em> was something that was... almost strange to hear. She watched him go for a moment, because it was almost strange to see him a good bit taller than the horse's shoulder, too.</p><p>Owl soared over her then, having followed at a safe height from the edge of the kingdom, and hooted softly as he flew up toward Rapunzel's window, likely to see if she was up there.</p><p>Cassandra shook her head briefly and walked under the ivy-wreathed arch to the courtyard, nodding slightly to some hesitant-looking guards as she passed, and the leaves rustled all around her in the saltwater breeze.</p><p>—</p><p>Reuniting with Rapunzel went <em>pretty much</em> the way she'd figured it would.</p><p>Cassandra had been standing in the strangely-empty throne room, surrounded by rich purples and golds, having been let into the castle by the door guards and snuck past the rest of them just to have something to pester Eugene about. Evidently, the princess had only stepped out for a minute—a side door creaked open behind her, and Cass quickly looked over her shoulder to see a very wide-eyed Rapunzel.</p><p>"Cass?" Rapunzel said in surprise upon seeing her, green eyes round and hopeful before completely lighting up. Rapunzel's dress now was a deeper purple than when she'd last seen her, and the gold vine designs on it were new, but not much else had changed. Her brunette hair was still cropped short, and her tiara still glinted on her head—though there <em>was</em> the addition of a sparkle on her left hand that seemed to catch sunlight even in the shadows.</p><p>There wasn't much time to dwell on it, though, because Rapunzel rushed up to her and stopped just short of a hug, grabbing Cass' forearms with one of the most hopeful smiles Cass had ever seen. Cass blinked, honestly a bit surprised by the respect for her personal space.</p><p>"Oh my goodness, <em>Cassandra!"</em> Rapunzel gushed, so much warmth flooding her eyes and smile that Cass momentarily wondered if the Sundrop had <em>really</em> left its host. "You're <em>back!</em> How have you been?! We weren't expecting you!"</p><p>Cass couldn't help but chuckle at her enthusiasm, a wide smile creeping into her own face despite herself. She shrugged, glancing briefly to the side.</p><p>"Yeah, well; I figured if you were, I'd end up with a welcome party, and... I kinda wanted to stay low-key."</p><p>She looked back up to meet her friend's eager gaze, and smiled back, hoping her own expression conveyed half that much warmth.</p><p>"I've been good. Thanks, Raps."</p><p>Rapunzel laughed in sheer excitement, a light, bright sound that Cass found she'd missed. Rapunzel slid her hands down to clasp Cass' hands together—gentle with the right one, still—and drew them up between them, in a motion that was clearly as close to a hug as she could get without giving in to the urge to squeeze the living daylights out of her.</p><p>"Oh, we've <em>missed</em> you!" Rapunzel gushed, eyes dancing with excitement. "Eugene and I were just talking about it!" She turned her head briefly to call over her shoulder toward the door. "<em>Eugene!"</em></p><p>"<em>Ey, Eugene!</em>" echoed Varian's voice from somewhere down the hallway, a little louder than Rapunzel had been, and it seemed like he was used to relaying messages around the castle. He slipped in and met her eyes immediately, giving a small smile.</p><p>"Varian!" Rapunzel gushed, suddenly with excitement to share, a hand still on Cass' arm as she turned to beam at their friend. "Did you see?"</p><p>"Yeah, we just came from Old Corona," Varian replied with a grin that almost mirrored Rapunzel's, even though it was a little more muted than when he'd first seen her. Cass smiled a bit in return.</p><p>"Got your horse taken care of?" she asked, absentmindedly feeling a pang of regret for not taking Fidella down to get untacked herself. The stable hands would take care of it, and Fidella would guard her things, but nervousness was trying to creep back in as she stood here in the vast Corona throne room—with some new windows where rocks had once pierced the walls, she noted—and she was starting to wish she hadn't come in quite so quickly.</p><p>"Yeah, Xavier's gonna send him to the stables after," Varian replied with a little smile. His eyes widened a bit in guilt, and he quickly turned to Rapunzel. "If... that's... still okay; sorry, I should've asked—"</p><p>Rapunzel narrowed her eyes playfully and gave him a bit of a smirk. "Of <em>course</em> it's okay, Varian. You're welcome to stable him here anytime you like!"</p><p>"<em>All</em> right; what's all the excited yelling about?"</p><p>There was a shuffle in the doorway a few paces away, and they all looked over to see a surprised Eugene with his eyebrows up as he stared at them. Still in that fancy red captain's uniform, and <em>still</em> with that dumb smirk starting to form on his face.</p><p>"Well, <em>hey!"</em> he called, smile growing into a grin as he spread out his arms in a gesture toward her. "Look who finally decided to show up!"</p><p>Cassandra winced a little as she smiled back. "Has it been that long?"</p><p>Eugene, still grinning, came up beside her and rolled his eyes. "Well, <em>I</em> haven't been keeping track," he began, before putting an arm around her and pulling her in from behind for a completely hypocritical hug, "but I'm sure these guys missed you terribly."</p><p>"Uh-huh. Thanks," Cass muttered, folding her arms around herself dismissively, though it had admittedly been a <em>really</em> long time since she'd been hugged and the warmth felt nice. "You can let go, now."</p><p>"Oh, does this <em>annoy</em> you? In that case, nope; you're getting a hug," Eugene replied with a hum, teasingly putting his chin on top of her head. Cass made a face, <em>that</em> close to sticking out her tongue.</p><p>Varian snickered beside them, and Cass shot him a half-hearted glare.</p><p>"They <em>really</em> don't like each other, do they?" Varian stage-whispered to Rapunzel, his voice teasing and not even close to an actual whisper.</p><p>"Of course they do," Rapunzel replied matter-of-factly, a soft smile tugging at her face. "That's just how they show it."</p><p>Eugene let go of her immediately, just as Cass forcibly shrugged his arms away.</p><p>"Okay, <em>Raps</em>—" Cass threatened in embarrassment. "Eulgh. Do <em>not</em> put it like that."</p><p>"Yeah, you two,” Eugene agreed, though his voice sounded <em>way</em> too amused. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to get <em>Cass</em> to accept my hugs? She <em>has</em> to look annoyed. And I have to be doing it specifically to annoy her! It's part of the rules."</p><p>"What rules?" Rapunzel asked, wrinkling her nose in amusement.</p><p>"Uh, the <em>Captain's</em> rules. Which <em>some people</em> had better obey, because I rule!"</p><p>Rapunzel folded her arms and merely gave him a look, one eyebrow raised and a little smirk tugging at her lips. Cass grinned smugly and did her the favor of saying what she was clearly thinking.</p><p>"Mm-<em>hmm</em>. You sure about that?" Cass taunted playfully. "Because last I heard, you're Prince Consort now. <em>They don't rule</em>."</p><p>Eugene put his hands up in surrender, rolling his eyes with a smile. "Kidding! I kid. Sunshine here rules. Right, Sunshine?"</p><p>Rapunzel just gave him a playful smirk, eyes still sparkling when she met Cass' gaze again.</p><p>"Oh, Cass. I am <em>so</em> glad you're back! We were so worried about you!"</p><p>Rapunzel's hands were twitching a bit, and she was bouncing on the balls of her still-bare feet, and Cass narrowed her eyes in amusement at what she was clearly yearning to do.</p><p><em>Since when do I have to ask?</em> a little part of her thought, a sinking feeling suddenly in her stomach. But—no, it clearly wasn't because Rapunzel didn't want to. She was just trying to show respect and restraint.</p><p>That was... <em>different</em>, but maybe Cass hadn’t been the only one trying to change.</p><p>"What, no hug?" Cass asked with a little smile, holding her arms out in invitation.</p><p>Rapunzel hesitated for a fraction of a second—but then lit up with a blinding smile and <em>pounced</em>, spinning them both around multiple times as she embraced Cass in a bone-crushing hug.</p><p>Cass could only let out a cough of laughter as she stumbled and hugged her friend back, <em>almost</em> as tightly, but with a little less force. "Missed you, Raps."</p><p>Rapunzel laughed brightly and loosened her grip, but before Cass could pull back, she could feel Eugene's arms around them both as he ducked his head over theirs and hugged them more sincerely.</p><p>Eugene's arm left a cold space around her back as it disappeared for a moment. A split second passed, and there was a surprised "<em>whoa</em>—" from behind him as Varian, who had clearly wandered too close to the danger zone, got yanked into the hug pile as well. His arm landed very lightly around the back of her shoulders, and basically, the structure of this hug was turning into a mess.</p><p>"And we <em>all</em> missed you, Cass," Rapunzel whispered over her shoulder, and the warmth of her friends' embrace felt both smothering and almost uncomfortably <em>nice</em>, after years of no real contact on the road. It had been long enough that the sensation felt almost unfamiliar, and Cass almost found herself hovering in the hug longer than necessary just to figure out how it felt.</p><p>Nearly too soon, they all unraveled and pulled back from her, and Cass gave a little, grateful smile.</p><p>Rapunzel clapped her hands, eyes lighting up in recollection as she glanced briefly around the room as if someone was missing. "Oh! Lance took the girls camping; but they will be <em>so</em> excited to see you when they get back tomorrow!"</p><p>"I still don't know why they wanted to go camping when they already <em>live</em> in a treehouse, but yes!" Eugene added, a gleam still in his eyes that she could only attribute to... well, being genuinely excited to see <em>her</em>. Somehow. "They'll be thrilled."</p><p>Rapunzel's smile was as bright as the sun, Eugene's actually looked <em>very</em> happy to see her, Pascal perched on one of her knees, and Varian kept watching her with a softer look than she knew what to do with.</p><p>Most of her first day back was spent sitting cross-legged in a circle on the thick carpet of the throne room dais, with a Princess, a captain, a chameleon, and an alchemist—and later her dad; <em>gosh</em> she'd missed her dad—and she wouldn't have had it any other way.</p><p>—</p><p>That evening—<em>late</em> that evening, because even Varian with his multiple watches on his gloves seemed to have lost track of time—they adjourned for bed.</p><p>They had moved to Rapunzel's room where it was more comfortable, snacks in tow, and the horses had settled in behind them. (Max must have convinced Fidella to come join the group—Fidella had never liked being in the upstairs of the castle, where it was hard for her to avoid leaving hoofprints in the nice carpeting. Rapunzel, however, was ecstatic to see her.) Owl had apparently found the window open and had beaten them here, content to perch on the mantel and observe them with one eye half-open.</p><p>Her dad had since retired for bed, having judged correctly that all the wide-eyed young adults would likely be awake talking for hours to come. He had always been asleep at dark and up long before the sun for as long as she could remember. She'd bade him goodnight and exchanged a hug like she once would never have dreamed of doing in front of other people, promising to come visit soon.</p><p>Cass, who was thoroughly worn out from simply talking so much—she'd been pressed for more tales than she'd known she had, of where she'd been and who she'd met and what she'd spent the years doing, and it <em>was</em> kind of nice to talk and have everyone listening to <em>her</em> with rapt attention—was content to sit and listen to her friends as they concluded their own catching up.</p><p>"And—gosh, how long has it been dark?" Rapunzel broke off suddenly, rousing Cass out of her thoughts. "Sorry! You're probably tired, Cass. Do you want to get ready for bed? I can get a room ready in just a few minutes. You... <em>are</em> gonna stay with us, right?”</p><p>She hadn’t really thought it through that far, but that meant didn’t exactly have other plans for lodging—and when all three of them were looking at her so hopefully it was hard to do anything but nod. Rapunzel beamed, then pursed her lips and blinked as if she’d almost forgotten another thing. </p><p>"Varian, you're staying the night, right?" Rapunzel asked, turning to him with eyebrows up in question. “So you don’t have to make the trip in the dark?”</p><p>Varian looked like he wanted to say yes, but he dropped his gaze with a sheepish smile. "Actually, I... need to get home. I left my dad with a broken irrigator and didn't tell him how long I'd be. But I'll be back as soon as I get that taken care of, if—that's okay?"</p><p>Almost subtly, he offered Cass his hand again for a friendly parting handshake, and she smiled just a bit and took it properly this time. Even through their gloves, his hand encompassed her scarred one, and it was another thing that felt familiar but <em>different</em>.</p><p>"Of course! Tell your dad he's welcome to come stay here too." Rapunzel cast a sideways look at Cass, with an expression that was somewhere between a teasing smirk and a gleeful smile. "<em>Somebody's</em> back in town, and I can feel a celebration coming on."</p><p>Cass snorted, narrowing her eyes as she quickly drew her hand back and folded her arms around herself.</p><p>"<em>No</em>, Raps. There do not need to be <em>any</em> celebrations having anything to do with me. I am sure this kingdom has other things to celebrate."</p><p>Varian waved and mouthed a silent 'goodnight' as he slipped out the door, which Cass returned with a wave and Eugene with a good-natured salute. The horses, having stood up and shaken themselves off, nodded to the rest of them and followed Varian out.</p><p>"Cass, you knocked an ancient demon warlock out with a frying pan," Rapunzel countered with a raised eyebrow and a proud little smirk. "Like it or not, you're <em>kind of</em> a hero."</p><p>She had done that, and had promptly died after. She was fairly certain that dying from getting thrown against a wall too hard was <em>not</em> a heroic way to go.</p><p>"Pff," she muttered, too tired to consider how to really argue that point. "Is that what you're telling people?"</p><p>"I'm telling them the <em>truth</em>, yeah," Rapunzel replied with a little smile. "And for Corona's noble plot twist hero, the finest guest room shall be prepared!"</p><p>She didn't even <em>begin</em> to deserve the hospitality they'd already shown her—and the thought of accepting more from people she'd hurt <em>so badly</em> made her insides churn.</p><p>"I... don't need a fancy room, Raps," Cass said with a shake of her head, as Eugene busied himself gathering up their food trays to give them a little space. "Is mine being used?"</p><p>Rapunzel, to her surprise, narrowed her eyes at the question, hands on her hips and a resolute, almost pained look in her eyes.</p><p>"You're <em>not</em> going to sleep in the servants' quarters, Cass," she insisted gently, and for a minute, Cass could do nothing but blink in surprise. "You are our guest."</p><p>"<em>Was that the royal 'we'?</em>" Eugene suddenly leaned over to whisper in her ear, as if this had been a recurring question of his.</p><p>Rapunzel shook her head and leaned against him slightly to whisper back. "<em>No, that was plural. I meant both of us."</em></p><p>Eugene mouthed a small "<em>ah</em>" and nodded, standing straight again. Rapunzel turned back to Cass as if to continue, before an apologetic look crossed her face.</p><p>"I mean... not unless you really <em>do</em> want your room," she amended, and a little part of Cass twisted affectionately at being given a <em>choice</em>. "I want to give you a nice guest room, though. I think it'd be less... like how things were before."</p><p>As much as everything in her wanted to do the honorable thing and insist that her old room was fine—<em>if it was still empty? Rapunzel hadn't said it wasn't</em>—there was some part of her that didn't sit well at the thought. There were a lot of memories attached to her old room, and few of them were free of the bitterness she'd been trying to grow out of and leave behind. She may have <em>been</em> back—but she was trying her hardest not to <em>go</em> back.</p><p>Cass dropped her gaze for a moment, letting out a silent breath.</p><p>"Just make it close to the kitchen," she relented with a tiny smile. "I'm planning on raiding it pretty early in the morning."</p><p>Eugene, who had collected all the dishes and was now balancing them in an impressive stack in one arm, raised his other hand as he headed out of the room. "Kitchen parade! Simply follow the handsome guy who just cleaned everything up for you. Right this way, folks."</p><p>Rapunzel, not seeming to have heard her husband, managed to look playfully dissatisfied even with that concession.</p><p>"But that's on the ground floor! <em>Cass</em>," she protested, and yeah, the kitchen <em>was</em> on the same floor as the servants' quarters. There were a few small guest rooms as well, though, and she'd be more than fine with them.</p><p>Cass narrowed her eyes in playful exasperation, though she gave a thin smile, because she <em>was</em> grateful for the hospitality. "I've been sleeping outside for months, Raps. Anything's fine."</p><p>Rapunzel narrowed her eyes in return, though her eyes were still sparkling.</p><p>"All the more reason for you to have a royal welcome! Come on, follow me."</p><p>—</p><p>The guest room was dark, when she entered.</p><p>The full moon was visible outside a window that looked out over both the ocean and the coast, and it cast a pale wash of light on the carpeted floor by the bed. Rapunzel entered first, hurrying over to light a hurricane lamp on the nightstand to illuminate the room a bit more.</p><p>"And the kitchen is right downstairs!" Rapunzel was saying as she fiddled with the knob that lengthened the lamp wick, smirking to herself when a bright golden glow cast a pleasant warmth on the ornate blue wallpaper. "<em>Boom</em>. Nice <em>and</em> convenient. Checked everything off of both of our lists."</p><p>A flicker of a smile crossed Cass' face at her friend's enthusiasm as she glanced around the vaguely familiar room. She'd cleaned in here at least a few times before big castle events. (Had she during the Science Expo? She couldn't remember. Maybe Varian had gotten this one.) It was a decent size and had decent furniture to store bedrolls and weapons in. She'd have to retrieve the rest of her things in the morning from where Fidella had put them safely in the corner of her stall. Owl had flown in with them and was already perched on the headrest of the bed, nestled in on himself and sound asleep after a long day awake.</p><p>Rapunzel had spent a moment flitting around and adjusting little pieces of decor that perched atop the chest of drawers, but she suddenly turned toward the furthest corner by the washbasin, which was now... boxed in with a subtle new wall and curtain.</p><p>"Oh! And check this out," Rapunzel beckoned her, and Cass ventured a little closer as Rapunzel drew aside the curtain. A small tub with tile walls up the sides was tucked into the small space, and bronze pipes with handles traveled up out of the wall and bent overhead above the tub. Rapunzel reached in for one of the handles, keeping herself out of the way.</p><p>The handle creaked when she turned it, and a spray of water rained from a metal pipe-cap dotted with holes.</p><p>"Voila!" Rapunzel announced with a proud expression, as the smell of warm water began to creep through the air. "Hot running water for a hot shower."</p><p>Cassandra raised an eyebrow, impressed.</p><p>"Wow. When'd you get that put in?"</p><p>"Just a few months ago! Thanks to our Royal Engineer, most of Corona has access to the hot water systems."</p><p>Cass raised the other eyebrow blankly at this. She hadn't known that Royal Engineer was a position, much less that Rapunzel had appointed one. <em>Unless—</em></p><p>"...Oh! Did he not tell you? Varian is the Royal Engineer now," Rapunzel explained, finishing Cass' guess for her. Even in the dark, the pride was evident on the princess' face. "He's done an <em>amazing</em> job around here."</p><p>He'd also been working practically nonstop, if the fact that a <em>guest room</em> already had its own shower was any evidence. Cass made a mental note to make sure he wasn't <em>over</em>working himself next time she caught up with him.</p><p>She eyed the closest corner of the bed, while Rapunzel leaned into the shower space again and turned the other knob with a squeak.</p><p>"Left is hot water, right is cold water, and together, they make... warm water! I still love this. What a neat design, right?" She turned off both of the handles, drawing back to brush her hands off on her dress. "Just for whenever you want it. I'm sure you're probably ready for bed."</p><p>That was a bit of an understatement—Cass was unlacing her boots and sitting on the edge of the (admittedly <em>very</em> comfortable, if way too plush) bed by then. Rapunzel, being Rapunzel, watched her for a moment before glancing around to see what else might be needed.</p><p>"Do you need anything? Water, a snack, pajamas?"</p><p>"I'm... pretty tired, Raps," Cass deflected hesitantly. She <em>was</em> grateful for the generosity, really—but she had what she needed from her own belongings, and after a day with so much nonstop socialization, she could probably fall asleep where she sat. It was... <em>nice</em>, to be somewhere she probably didn't have to worry about being ambushed in the night.</p><p>It was another item on a long list of things Cass wasn't used to, but Rapunzel didn't push. She simply smiled, a sheepish look in her eyes.</p><p>"Sorry," she apologized, drawing back toward the door. "I know you've had a long trip. Sweet dreams, Cass. I love you."</p><p>The old part of her—the prideful part with an image to uphold that squirmed at the thought of sappy <em>feelings</em>—balked a little.</p><p>But the bigger part that she hoped was the better part pushed past it. She didn't <em>have</em> to be the same person she was. She <em>couldn't</em> be, now. She couldn't let everything go to waste.</p><p>"Love you too, Raps," Cass answered quietly, and Rapunzel all but beamed as she softly closed the door behind her.</p><p>She didn't have any dreams—just a general sense of pleasantness brought in by the smell of the wind off the ocean, mixed with thoughts of sunlight and sun emblems and hoofbeats and purple stones, and that was sweet enough for her.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>As you may have guessed by now, my writing schedule did not go as planned. But we're back! XD This chapter somehow doubled in length to 10k and needed split up again, so Chapter 3 will be up as soon as I get it copied over here. I'm hoping to have my entries for Week 2 &amp; 3 up as soon as possible, too, so keep an eye out for those!</p><p>The prize from last chapter goes to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShayLaLaLooHoo/pseuds/ShayLaLaLooHoo">ShayLaLaLooHoo</a>, who guessed that Varian's horse was the same one Cass stole in Cassandra's Revenge. I figured Varian needed a horse, and the idea of him having <i>that one</i> was hilarious to me. The poor horse looked so sad in that episode! I thought it'd be fun if he wanted to make sure Varian stayed safe after that incident. I’m headcanoning that he’s not a fan of Cass now, though. XDD</p><p>Comments and kudos are much appreciated! Stay tuned!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>And now, Chapter 2.5! Or Chapter 3. In which Lance is a <i>super</i> proud dad, Cass is a little overwhelmed by how much her friends love her, and Varian is at least a little better with injuries than he used to be. And I write WAY too much. XD</p><p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>On her second day back, Cassandra was awoken by operatic singing from the kitchens.</p><p>And the smell of omelettes. There was really only one person who would be singing in the kitchen at dawn while making omelettes.</p><p>"Hey, Lance," she greeted from the doorway with a hesitant smile, inwardly hoping her growling stomach wasn't audible. Her own cooking had been limited pretty exclusively to whatever she found in the forest—it had been a <em>long</em> time since she'd last smelled a castle kitchen at work.</p><p>Lance whirled around, spatula still in hand (and dripping cheese on the floor, Cass noted with a familiar, resigned sense of <em>nice, Lance</em>), and stared at her in surprise for a moment before laughing heartily.</p><p>"Well, if it ain't Cass!" he greeted, waving his hands out to the sides (and dripping more cheese on the floor). Behind him, seated along the wooden counter, were Red and Angry, who were staring at her in curious surprise.</p><p>Cass cracked an awkward smile in return as she stepped into the kitchen. "If it ain't me... then you'll do what?"</p><p>Lance shrugged, a smirk still playing at his lips. "Nothing, because it is you," he replied simply. He stepped aside and grinned, gesturing proudly to the two girls sitting beside him at the counter. "Cass, you've met my daughters, Catalina and Kiera."</p><p><em>Right—not Red and Angry</em>, Cass thought quickly, because she'd almost forgotten their real names. Then, the other part of his sentence registered, and she blinked in surprise.</p><p>"...Daughters?" she repeated, eyebrows up as she looked at them. "Wow."</p><p>That was... actually... really nice. Someone who'd never gotten adopted adopting kids themselves.</p><p>The two girls just observed her carefully, a hint of suspicion carefully hidden in their eyes. They waited, as if to see what opinion to form of the person she'd become.</p><p>Cass folded her arms (most certainly <em>not</em> protectively around herself at the double scrutiny) and tilted her head at the two girls (with a hopefully friendly smirk, <em>not</em> because she was uncertainly trying to read their expressions).</p><p>"You two still giving everybody a run for their money?" she asked with a faint smile, trying to sound like she still had any practice talking to kids. Acting "cool" and affirmative was all it took, right? Probably. It couldn't hurt.</p><p>Kiera was the first to speak, with a thoughtful expression that looked like she didn't think Cass was so bad after all.</p><p>"Well... not anymore," the girl replied with a bit of a smile. "But I did pickpocket somebody last week!"</p><p>Lance gasped, with all the squeaky, dramatic aghast-ness of <em>Lance</em> that Cass had never really seen in anyone else but Eugene.</p><p>"Kiera Schnitz!" he gasped, maintaining an aghast expression for all of a few moments before pursing his lips with a narrow-eyed look. "...Did he notice?"</p><p>"Nope. Not even suspicious," Kiera replied with a modest shrug. "And I gave the money to a street kid who was <em>clearly</em> about to get caught trying it, so it was for charity! It's not really stealing if you don't get a profit. And the guy was one of those sewer bandits anyway. I doubt any of the money was actually his."</p><p>"As your father, I simply cannot allow you to pickpocket people! However, as a seasoned ex-thief, I <em>will</em> say nice work."</p><p>Kiera puffed her chest out a little with pride.</p><p>"No cookies for a month," Lance added resolutely.</p><p>Kiera's mouth fell open slightly and she stared at him in disbelief.</p><p>"We <em>do</em> need to encourage people to be better people, not just to wish they had your expert pickpocket skills," he reminded her gently.</p><p>"Yeah, yeah..." she muttered, folding her arms as she glanced sideways in annoyed embarrassment. "I gave it to someone who needed it."</p><p>Cass couldn't help but chuckle.</p><p>"Got some pretty cool kids there, huh?" she asked, and there was a little gleam in Kiera's eyes like she'd brightened up a bit at the compliment. Lance nodded wholeheartedly, eyeing them with a more affectionate grin than Cass could ever remember seeing from him.</p><p>"Sure do! Guess which one of 'em's the werewolf."</p><p>"<em>Dad</em>," Catalina muttered from next to her sister, facepalming in embarrassment.</p><p>Cassandra's eyebrows went up in surprise, but Lance just shrugged apologetically, still smiling.</p><p>"Sorry. Proud dad. Pardon me."</p><p>She had heard something about a werewolf in the battle before she'd left, but had assumed it was some new friend Rapunzel had made. Like a gruff old hunter who'd been living in the forest—not the shy little girl she remembered riding around on Lance's shoulders.</p><p>"Yep!" Lance continued, chest puffed out with obvious pride. "They're absolutely <em>priceless</em>—that's why everybody's after them," he added in a conspiratorial mumble, and it sounded like he fully believed it. "...At least the occasional lawman or werewolf hunter and such. But nobody messes with my kids, or I'll show <em>them</em> a dad tightening his longbow on the front porch!"</p><p>"Do you even <em>have</em> a longbow?" Kiera asked, giving him a skeptical look.</p><p>Lance, who to Cass' knowledge did not know how to use any kind of bow, gasped in mock offense. "What? You think Lance <em>Strongbow</em> doesn't use a <em>longbow?</em> What else would I use? A crossbow?"</p><p>"Crossbows <em>do</em> have more power," Kiera replied matter-of-factly. “And they look cooler.”</p><p>"I don't like them as much," Catalina said softly.</p><p>"You know..." Cass began—not<em> because she was grasping at making a decent impression; she'd promised herself she wouldn't do that</em>—leaning on the wall casually, "...it takes some skill to be able to use <em>both</em> pretty well."</p><p>Kiera stopped to stare at her in surprise. "Can <em>you</em> use both?"</p><p>Cass smirked and shrugged enigmatically. "I could show you, if you want."</p><p><em>Both</em> girls were staring at her now, clearly intrigued. Kiera, who looked <em>very</em> hopeful now, glanced to her sister for confirmation.</p><p>Catalina blinked, a rather sheepish smile suddenly on her face.</p><p>"That'd be cool, if you don't mind," the girl said softly.</p><p>Cassandra gave them both a wry grin.</p><p>She ended up spending most of the afternoon in the secluded walls of the archery range, watching fletchings flit past her wrist and her target accumulate enough bullseyes that she split one arrow and chipped another. (She <em>wasn't</em> a show-off, so if she spent more time showcasing her skill with a hard-to-draw longbow almost as tall as she was, it was just because she'd meant to stay in practice anyway.) They spent the day in the warm breeze, until Lance took over teaching the girls to use a longbow and she ran out of guards and friends to out-shoot.</p><p>—</p><p>After that, her evening was spent with Rapunzel and Eugene—mostly catching up, still, because apparently she'd missed a <em>lot</em>.</p><p>Rapunzel was <em>happy</em>, happier than Cass once would've thought any person could be, and it almost made Cass want to just watch her and try to figure out how she did it. Both of them were—and their kindness after all they'd been through, while not exactly unexpected, was really something else.</p><p>Eugene, apparently, was now <em>The Honorable Captain and Professor Prince Eugene Fitzherbert, Prince Consort of Corona</em>, and despite the <em>ridiculous</em> title that almost made her chuckle, he seemed to have been doing fairly well with the responsibility.</p><p>"—And thanks to our noble Captain, there's not a lot of bad guy activity these days!" Rapunzel finished with a proud smile toward her husband. Eugene puffed out his chest a bit at this, and Cass couldn't help but snort.</p><p>"Hey, my dad did a good job," she reminded them, because however admittedly... <em>decent</em> of a job Eugene and his men might be doing, her dad had served a long time and worked very hard.</p><p>Eugene, to his credit, raised his eyebrows and nodded in agreement.</p><p>"He did, really, and I mean that," he agreed in a tone that had dropped back to normal, before his voice went up in pitch and he grinned sympathetically. "But your dad <em>thinks</em> like a captain of the guards! You know, yelling at people until they behave? Criminals just don't respond to that! They respond to being outsmarted, caught, and then <em>befriended</em>. It's a tried-and-true method around here!"</p><p>Rapunzel's eyes lit up even further at the reminder, and she turned to Cass in excitement. "Yes! You know Otter? He's actually a horse trainer now! He's really gentle with them. And Pocket got his dream of being a tailor!"</p><p>Otter, Cass faintly remembered as the big thug with the bowl cut. The only thing she really remembered about Pocket was his smug, weaselly smirk whenever her father had interrogated him for his constant involvement in the bandit gangs. Some lawbreakers prided themselves in their image as famous thieves—and others just found entertainment in being general annoyances with the moral compass of a sewer rat.</p><p>"I... didn't know he had a dream like that," she replied, still trying to wrap her head around the purposefully-lowly <em>sewer bandits</em> having dreams of legitimate jobs.</p><p>"I don't think anybody did," Rapunzel agreed softly, glancing off at the carpet in thought. "Because... I don't think anybody ever asked."</p><p>To the best of Cass' recollection, whenever her dad had asked criminals a question like that out of exasperation, he was always met with some combination of snideness and sarcasm—but maybe it <em>did</em> take a certain kind of person to reach certain people.</p><p>(Something about that combination of optimism <em>and</em> empathy—where someone knew what you were going through, and believed you could be so much more anyways—did make it a <em>little</em> easier to realize that you could change for the better.)</p><p>Eugene pursed his lips thoughtfully and drew her gaze up again, snapping her out of her thoughts.</p><p>"Oh, and before we get <em>too</em> off-topic—Cass, have you been to your dad's place yet?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.</p><p>Her dad had come to see her at the castle, but she hadn't gone out yet. And that was... somewhat okay, <em>partially</em> because word of her return had probably spread all over the island by now. A little pang of regret settled in her, because she should have just worn her hood on the way into town and avoided showing her face first thing. Why hadn't it seemed as important at the time?</p><p>"No, but I should," Cass replied slowly, raising an eyebrow back at him in question.</p><p>Eugene sat back and made a peculiar face, and if it hadn't been <em>Eugene</em>, she might've thought he was concentrating on picking his next words tactfully.</p><p>"Well, <em>just</em> to forewarn ya, he's got guests."</p><p>...<em>Guests?</em></p><p>Cass frowned, eyebrows furrowing in uncertainty, but Rapunzel sat upright with a look of realization in her eyes before she could ask.</p><p>"Oh!" Rapunzel exclaimed, clapping her hands as if that had reminded her of something very important. "I forgot you didn't know! Well... let's just say that the Lorbs still <em>love</em> your dad. And apparently, a bunch of them wanted to come see him, sooo... they haven't left yet. Your dad really likes them! And they actually don't treat him like a pet. I think he's been really grateful for the company."</p><p>After the initial surprise and mild disbelief at this information—because wow, Terapi Island had been one place she'd decided <em>not</em> to go on her travels—guilt twinged at Cass, because she <em>had</em> always pretty much been her father's sole source of company outside of his work. Had he been lonely? He must have been. She couldn't think of any other reason someone would willingly spend time with Lorbs.</p><p>"...Huh," she said softly, dropping her gaze.</p><p>Seeming to sense the drop in the mood, Rapunzel drummed her fingers briefly on her knee and glanced around the room. Rapunzel's—and Eugene's, now, she guessed—room was more comfortable and secluded than most in the castle, and judging by the chairs, pillows, and cushions that had accumulated in here, it had become the closest thing the castle had to a lounging area.</p><p>"So there's that, and... Let's see, what else has been going on... Your dad has been working with Eugene as an instructor for the guards!"</p><p>Eugene smirked, but it was more of a little smile, and things must have changed a lot since she'd left if that was actually some <em>humility</em> she saw in his eyes. "As much as I hate to say it, I still cannot figure out how to teach regular guards to <em>be</em> regular guards. He's been a great help."</p><p>Rapunzel cast him a sideways look, but rolled her eyes upward with a little smile nonetheless.</p><p>"You guys have done a <em>great</em> job," she assured him, before turning back to Cass with a gleam in her eye. "A lot of the bad guys have turned things around, actually! There's only a handful left, and Eugene and Max keep a pretty tight ship when it comes to them. Although, I will say that they seem to <em>love</em> trying to interrupt my birthdays."</p><p>"I know!" Eugene crowed in agreement, waving his arms outward like he couldn't believe it. "And that makes, what—five years in a <em>row</em> we've had to deal with bad guys on your birthday? I'm starting to think they're just jealous of the party!"</p><p>"Don't say that; she might invite them next time," Cass teased, only faintly aware of the grin that was creeping back onto her face.</p><p>Rapunzel, who had clearly matured a lot—if only from the never-annoyed princess who avoided disagreement at all costs—briefly stuck her tongue out at her, causing Cass to chuckle. "Just to be clear, I do have <em>some</em> common sense. I don't think the criminals who are left like celebrations very much."</p><p>"No, I mean it!" Eugene continued with that dumb grin and a fanciful wave of his hand, clearly just enjoying coming up with stupid ideas and not <em>actually</em> meaning it. "Birthday parties for criminals! With balloons, and streamers, and <em>cake</em>—who would wanna stay evil after that?"</p><p>Rapunzel, who was pursing her lips and clearly fighting to keep an amused glitter out of her eyes, just patted him on the shoulder.</p><p>"I'll take that suggestion under advisement," Rapunzel assured him, and Cass <em>cackled</em>.</p><p>The way they looked at her after that—with hopeful smiles and soft fondness in their eyes as she covered her mouth in an attempt to get her guffaws under control—made her self-conscious, at least a little. But she'd done nothing if not change over the years, and she'd tried to change for the better. She glanced up to meet their eyes, if a bit shyly at the affection she saw there, and cracked a lopsided smile.</p><p>"You guys are happy, huh?" she asked quietly. In the warm light of the lantern chandeliers in Rapunzel's room, they certainly looked it.</p><p>Rapunzel held her gaze with a maturity Cass still wasn't quite used to seeing there. When she smiled, it was with softness in her eyes.</p><p>"When <em>you</em> are?" she asked quietly, and the way she and Eugene <em>both</em> seemed to be in complete agreement about this gave Cass more than a twinge of affectionate embarrassment. "Definitely."</p><p>Rapunzel smiled again, with eyes sparkling about something different this time, and was kind enough not to push it.</p><p>"But that's enough about us. What else have <em>you</em> been up to, Cassandra?"</p><p>
  <em>Swordfights and mysteries, exploring deep caves and deeper forests, fighting pirates and highwaymen and calming down dragons, taking long hard rides on mountain paths and wooded trails and empty beaches as the moon and the sun took turns overhead—</em>
</p><p>A chuckle escaped her, and she couldn't help but smile.</p><p>"Where do you want me to start?"</p><p>—</p><p>The next day she had mostly to herself, since Rapunzel and Eugene had evidently taken on a lot of official business now that Rapunzel was in charge of the kingdom.</p><p>(Apparently, the King and Queen had never officially taken the throne back—they'd decided to continue to support their daughter as ruler instead. And from the looks of it, Corona was flourishing and growing stronger than ever before.)</p><p>Rapunzel had been rushing around that morning, gathering up notes and documents that Cass got the feeling she'd meant to organize over the last few days.</p><p>"I am <em>so</em> sorry, Cass, but this was scheduled weeks ago and nobody likes changes to import tax laws too close to when food imports are due—"</p><p>"No, I get it," Cass laughed, giving her friend a look of fond exasperation. "I'll be fine on my own, Raps. I've been wanting to look around anyway."</p><p>"As Captain of the Guard, I am also required to be present for... whatever you do with import tax laws, because hey, they're <em>import</em>ant." Eugene had ignored her narrow-eyed look for that pun, opting to give her a little grin instead. "But hey, let me know how you think the guards are doing, will ya? I'm sure <em>you</em> can spot any problems."</p><p>"Oh, you want criticism on how you do your job?" she'd asked sweetly, unable to help the devious gleam in her eye as she folded her arms. "Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it."</p><p>Rapunzel had smiled brightly and Eugene had clapped her on the shoulder as he'd walked by, and Cass had pursed her lips into a smile in return. As much as she cared for her friends—and she was coming to the almost uncomfortable realization that that was a <em>lot</em>—after so much time spent mostly alone, socialization was exhausting.</p><p>She took the time to bring her things up to her new room from the stables, unpacking what she'd need for a few weeks and leaving what was left rolled up.</p><p>She gave Fidella a good grooming, Owl a snack, and snuck Max some apple slices between his shifts. She dusted off the weather-worn belongings she'd brought to her room, and seriously debated asking Mrs. Crowley if she could borrow a washtub for doing some much-needed laundry.</p><p>In the end, she decided that was an adventure she'd rather postpone until another day. She stashed her few pairs of clothes in the chest of drawers—where apparently, <em>someone</em>-meaning-Rapunzel had already snuck in some new clothes as well.</p><p>Cass rolled her eyes briefly, but didn't try to push down the little smile that tugged at her lips as she pushed the new clothes aside to make room for her own.</p><p>Her coin pouch clacked faintly as she leaned against the open drawer, and the noise made her pause.</p><p><em>SLICE—!</em> the back of her mind reminded her, and Cass scrunched her eyes shut and shook her head despite the flinch it gave the still-sore muscles between her neck and her shoulder. <em>That</em> was not worth reliving, and it wasn't why she'd kept her pouch full of beads.</p><p>He was probably too busy. She'd really only meant to ask him about it as a way to reconnect, anyway.</p><p><em>Did he even make it back here yet?</em> she couldn't help but wonder, because she hadn't heard any explosions or knocks at her door or persistent, friendly chatter floating around the castle. <em>Seems like that'd be pretty easy to notice.</em></p><p>Still, the pouch hung heavy on her belt as she milled around adjusting her belongings, until she finally gave up with a shake of her head and headed out to scout the castle for him.</p><p>—</p><p>When she finally found Varian again, he was walking out of the castle from a meeting with the craftsmen, his arms full of diagrams he was stuffing into a satchel. His brow was furrowed, and he was muttering to himself under his breath, taking brief pauses to count on his fingers to supplement whatever was going on in his head.</p><p>Cass watched in uncertainty for a moment, before deciding she'd changed her mind. Nothing she wanted to talk to him about was <em>that</em> important. She wouldn't want anyone approaching her for conversation if she was busy or in a bad mood—the least she could do was extend that courtesy to others.</p><p>It was basically nothing. It could wait.</p><p>She turned away to head back inside through another door—but only made it a few steps away before an excited voice stopped her.</p><p>"Oh—hey! Cassandra!"</p><p>She looked over her shoulder, only to find that Varian's expression had gone from pensive to eager in what was probably world record time. He grinned brightly, shoving all the rolled-up papers into the crook of one arm as he waved with the other hand.</p><p>Cassandra turned around and raised an eyebrow in acknowledgment, an amused smile creeping onto her face as he haphazardly adjusted his bundle of papers and hurried over to see her.</p><p>"Hey, Varian," she greeted with an amused look, before reminding herself that she had changed her mind once and didn't need to do it again. He had clearly been in the middle of something—he was probably too busy as it was. "...Everything going okay?"</p><p>"Oh—yeah! Great!" Varian exclaimed with a nod, only barely distracted when he had to hurry to keep some of his papers from falling out of his arm. As soon as he got them secured, he looked back to her with a bright-eyed grin. "More than great, actually. I was just about to look for you."</p><p>She smirked slightly, giving him a teasing look. "Little bit ahead of you there. I got told Corona's <em>Royal Engineer</em> was at a meeting."</p><p>In all honesty, she would've expected him to have already told her about being a titled member of the royal staff. It sounded like something he'd playfully brag about. There was a sheepish glimmer in his eyes, as if there was a part of him that still wanted to—but he straightened up a little and seemed to try to look more professional than that.</p><p>"Oh! Heh. Yeah, that actually went really well," Varian replied with an awkward grin, looking a bit more put-together now that his mind was back on the same track it had been before. He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand and glanced out over the courtyard for a moment, before looking back to her with an apologetic smile. "Rapunzel wanted to see what it would take to get hot water run down to the lower levels of the castle. I told her I'd meet with the stonemason people to see if there's anything we can do short of just running pipes down the hallways. That'd be... well, practical for me to work on, but it'd look <em>really</em> unfinished."</p><p>If there had been one thing she'd learned from her time as a handmaiden, it was that if things weren't in the same order they had been for the last handful of decades, someone would pay for it. Cass snorted softly. "Crowley would hate that."</p><p>Varian chuckled with a wince, eyebrows up under his bangs as he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she... told me," he muttered under his breath, and even despite the odd sense of relief that came from the knowledge that <em>of course Old Lady Crowley hasn't gone anywhere</em>, Cass had to suppress a snicker. His eyes lit up when she smiled, and he tilted his head in a gesture at the huge bundle of papers he carried. "So, I'm just trying to work out some other ideas. Ninety percent of them don't work because the castle is built on some <em>unbelievably</em> solid stone. That foundation structure is ingenious! Rapunzel let me do some digging in the vault, and I was able to find some of the original plans for it. Did you know that Herz Der Sonne <em>himself</em> drew up the plans for the castle when he had it built?"</p><p>If it was possible for someone to exude excitement at a mere idea, then Varian seemed to have it down every bit as well as Rapunzel. His eyes were practically sparkling.</p><p>"That guy was <em>amazing</em>. He thought of himself as a general, but he had a mind for mechanics right up there with Demanitus!"</p><p>Only Shampanier had ever really held her interest in that story—women generals were rare, so the ones that did become leaders had to be <em>phenomenal</em> soldiers—but from what she'd seen of Der Sonne's journal over the years, she could see why Varian would admire him. Almost every page of the journal had been filled with vague records of strategies and incredibly detailed schematics for things that ran on gears and water power—as well as strings of little love-letter notes to the general, in an old language of marks on a line that she couldn't read.</p><p>(She'd almost forgotten that she'd once snooped through the book until she'd found the confession at the end. It had been nowhere near as schmaltzy as stories on the Day of Hearts made it sound, but it was honest and tender-hearted and full of historical-era romance, and she had to push down embarrassment at the memory of her preteen self even caring to look for that.)</p><p>"—<em>But</em> I'm gonna need Eugene and Rapunzel to come down and take a look at what I've got so far first," Varian concluded, stuffing the last of the papers into his satchel. "Besides some repairs I'm trying to organize. So that can wait until later."</p><p>Cass raised an eyebrow mildly. "You've been busy, huh?"</p><p>"Yeah, well—you know," Varian replied with a shrug. He fastened the satchel and met her gaze with an amused little smile. "Never a dull moment around here."</p><p>Judging by the way Rapunzel had gotten her and Eugene up early to have a pancake bake-off with Lance and the girls before they all split up to meetings or work today, that might've been an understatement. Cass chuckled. "That's for sure."</p><p>"Oh! And, uh—<em>speaking</em> of that—sorry I didn't make it back yesterday." Varian glanced away briefly as he rubbed the back of his neck with the hand that wasn't resting on his satchel. A little bit of the light fell from his eyes when he looked away, and Cass was suddenly aware of the tiredness visible on his face. His gaze flickered back up to meet hers with a wry smirk. "Dad accidentally broke a valve on that irrigator. We were up pretty late trying to fix it. And then the well pump was stuck open, and we had to get the field drained, and—" Varian, who was clearly trying to refrain from making a face and failing, let out a little half-hearted chuckle as he tried to assume an informative pose instead. "—Well, <em>that's</em> why you want to test things in the pasture and <em>then</em> run it out to the actual crops."</p><p>Cass inwardly flinched a bit, because dealing with flooding at night was never fun. Camping during a thunderstorm would teach you that <em>real</em> quickly.</p><p>"Sheesh. Sorry you had to deal with that."</p><p>The little nagging sensation at her intuition had been right after all—she should have gone to help. She might have outworked most of the guards cleaning up rubble in the week before she'd left, but that didn't mean she'd done even a fraction of what she should. The only way to prove yourself to most people was constant hard work, anyhow.</p><p>Despite all that, Varian didn't seem unaccustomed to dealing with that kind of thing by himself.</p><p>"It's okay! All good now. Still not—not <em>perfect</em>, but I wanted to get it taken care of before I had to make it here. And..." He hesitated for a moment, before getting an odd look in his eyes and shaking his head almost imperceptibly at his own hesitation. "Dad has requested that I take a break from everything except official castle business for a while, so... I might... actually have some free time for once."</p><p>The hopeful almost-question in his eyes when he looked at her was hard to miss. Cass couldn't help a tiny smile. The fact that she even had friends who wanted to spend time with her after all that she'd done still bewildered her a little. Still, the thought of people <em>wanting</em> to put other things aside for her was nice.</p><p>"Well, I guess that works out, huh?" she said with a little smile.</p><p><em>Just ask</em>, nagged her thoughts, because she was never a fan of backing out of something she'd planned to do beforehand. <em>It's going to be stupid if you don't</em>.</p><p>Cassandra glanced out over the castle courtyard, one hand on the railing, and hesitated.</p><p>"Hey, uh..." she began hesitantly, because she really didn't deserve to ask. "I know I probably don't get to ask this, after everything, but... any chance I could ask a favor of you?"</p><p>She unfastened her coin pouch and set it on the broad surface of the railing, letting most of the contents spill out into a pile. Purple and blue beads rolled out, an uneven purple stone not far behind. The Cassandrium gleamed in the sunlight, casting little purple reflections around itself on the white railing.</p><p>Varian stared at it in surprise for a moment, before his eyes jerked back up to hers in question.</p><p>He <em>had</em> seen it on her before she left—but it had been two years, and the happy spark of <em>You kept it</em> in his eyes was as strong now as it was then.</p><p>Cass tried to smile a little as she glanced sideways and rubbed the back of her neck.</p><p>"It... well, long story. The string broke. I couldn't get it on a needle to go back through the beads, and then I managed to <em>lose</em> half of it, and nobody had anything for sale at <em>any</em> market I looked at except yarn and thread, and... uh, well, figured you could probably drum up something a little stronger."</p><p>All of that was a little hard to say, so him getting an amused look in his eye and proceeding to <em>tease</em> her about it was not particularly appreciated.</p><p>"Oh, so you broke my necklace?" Varian teased, arms folded and eyebrow raised a bit. "How'd you even do that?"</p><p>"<em>I</em> didn't, no," Cass replied, trying to shoot him the unimpressed look he deserved for that question. As for <em>how</em>—well, that wasn't her fault either.</p><p>Varian seemed to sense that snarkiness on the subject wasn't entirely welcome, and he smiled sheepishly for a moment, glancing away briefly before meeting her eyes again.</p><p>"I—kidding. Sorry. I <em>made</em> it fairly easy to break, actually," Varian replied, eyebrows up with that little smile he got when someone was open to listening to him explain his designs. "I took into account that you seemed to enjoy swordsmanship and wanted to be on the guard. If you take some thread that's easy to snap and twist it together, you get string that withstands getting bumped around often, but can still be broken without pulling <em>too</em> hard."</p><p>Cass furrowed her eyebrows, trying to follow this logic. Seeming to notice this, Varian shrugged a little and smiled sheepishly.</p><p>"I... know people aren't supposed to wear anything around their neck when they're fighting," he explained, absently reaching up to rub the back of his collar as he spoke. "Like necklaces or scarves. You don't want anyone to be able to grab it from behind and, uh, pull too hard."</p><p>That... made sense; it was what she'd been taught since she was small. The same went for long hair—it was too easy of a target for your opponent to grab to be practical. Still, a flicker of amusement went through her, because clearly she'd been feeling a <em>little</em> rebellious against all those rules out on the road.</p><p>"I can definitely make it a little sturdier if it broke that easily, though," Varian continued, before pursing his lips and shrugging slightly. "Although the string might just be getting old. Hard to believe it's, uh... it's been a while, right?"</p><p>The longer it'd been since that science expo, the more subtly embarrassed Varian seemed to be to bring it up. There was still always a little spark in his eye, though, as if he still did have fond memories of that day—and it did bring a quirk of a smile to her lips, because despite the guilt that still occasionally nagged at her, it <em>had</em> been fun to blaze through an endless list of chores with a friend who knew what hard work was.</p><p>"Eh, the string was fine. It was just..." Cass hesitated. She wasn't one to complain, at least not about things <em>she'd</em> gotten herself into. She didn't want to sound weak, either, because <em>she wasn't, she was fine</em>—but with some things, it felt like... someone should know. "...Y'know. Life's... dangerous, on the road."</p><p>With a glance to the side and a thin smile, she reached to her neck and stretched out her collar sideways just a bit, revealing the thick pink scar that ran diagonal across the base of her neck.</p><p>It hadn't really been <em>her</em> fault the string broke. A cutlass would do that to the best of them.</p><p>"—<em>Oh!</em> Oh, oh gosh," Varian managed, eyes wide as saucers as he started to reach for her, then jerked his hands back. "Okay, that's—oh, geez. <em>Ow</em>," he said with a wince, drawing back just barely to clamp a hand over his own neck in the spot she'd gotten cut. "Are you <em>okay?"</em> he almost whispered, voice a little strained.</p><p>Cass quickly adjusted her collar back to where it was supposed to be, a little caught off guard by the onslaught of concern that was threatening her air of nonchalance. She'd been shook up by it <em>then;</em> she didn't need to be affected <em>now</em>.</p><p>"Oh?" she asked, which didn't mean anything and probably only came out because he'd said the word eight times. "Yeah, I'm—it'll be fine," she assured him with an awkward little smile, <em>because it would be; it was healing up fine and against all odds hadn't been a fraction of an inch deeper</em>. "Could've been worse, right?"</p><p>Varian stared at her for a minute, eyebrows furrowed in concern. The way he stared at her—like if he looked deep enough, he'd be able to piece her together until he <em>understood</em>—made her almost turn away, insides suddenly uneasy.</p><p>"...Is that why you came back?" he finally guessed, voice quiet.</p><p>Something inside Cassandra flinched, because apparently he <em>could</em> see that deep. She dropped her gaze, leaning on the railing a bit more as she shrugged slightly.</p><p><em>Stop being insightful</em>, part of her wanted to tell him, but a quieter part said <em>don't</em>.</p><p>"I... guess it was kind of a wake-up call," she was saying, and although her voice was casual as she looked down out over the courtyard, it sounded odd in her ears. She lowered it a notch in hopes that it wouldn't be as noticeable. "I like danger, and I'm not <em>scared</em> of it, but... I didn't want anything to happen to me before I came to see you guys again. I didn't want to leave like I did and not come back."</p><p>She had faced outlaws and pirates and landslides off of <em>very</em> steep cliffs—but every time a sword came too close or she nearly fell a hundred feet straight down, her breath suddenly disappeared with a frantic thought of <em>no not yet!</em></p><p>Varian watched her for a moment, those gears still turning in his eyes.</p><p>"Well," he said softly, but seriously, still staring at her with that understanding look she never quite knew how to feel about, "I'm glad you're back."</p><p>He said it with such quiet sincerity that she had to drop her gaze for a moment as she smiled.</p><p>Varian immediately seemed to second-guess his confidence in just <em>saying</em> that, however, and his eyes widened comically as he quickly began to backtrack.</p><p>"I mean—we're <em>all</em> glad you're back! All of us! I am—<em>not</em> the only one who's glad you're back! We are all happy to see you; not just—" He put a hand over his face to keep himself from continuing, and it could've been the lighting, but it was more likely that his ears went pink. "—stop, Varian."</p><p>She must've had a fonder look in her eyes than she'd thought when she stifled a laugh, because when he dropped his hand, he grinned hesitantly at her in embarrassment and glanced away. Her lips quirked up at the corner, because he had never seemed to mind showing everything he felt in his expression. In all her travels, she had yet to meet anyone else who was <em>open</em> quite like that. Even Rapunzel was a bit better at not wearing her every thought all over her face.</p><p>"Are you... still coming to the lantern lighting?" he asked after a moment, looking back to her with a hopeful glint in his eyes.</p><p>It <em>would</em> be nice, to have something like a holiday with friends again. There were some things she hadn't thought she'd miss until she didn't have a choice but to go without them. Cassandra pursed her lips and shrugged, nodding slightly as she scooped the stone and beads back into the pouch. "As far as I know, yeah."</p><p>As soon as she was done, she nudged it toward him, though not without a questioning glance to make sure he seemed all right with the task.</p><p>She needn't have worried. Varian beamed and swiped the pouch up with a flourish, a friendly determination in his eyes that she found she'd missed.</p><p>"It'll be ready by then!" he announced grandly, unlatching his satchel and slipping the pouch inside.</p><p>Cass gave him a moment before narrowing her eyes in teasing.</p><p>"You need two weeks to put the string back in?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement.</p><p>Varian cast her a playful narrow-eyed look for that remark, before assuming a more pretentious stance.</p><p>"Need?" he repeated, before shaking his head with what looked like the beginnings of a cocky smirk. "Oh, no. That shouldn't take too long. But it should be <em>pretty</em> good collateral for making sure you'll stay with us till then, right?"</p><p>Okay, that was definitely a cocky smirk. Varian grinned, swinging his satchel away from her nonchalantly, as if expecting her to try to take it back. </p><p>"<em>I'll</em> just hang onto it until then. Just to be sure."</p><p>"Wait, so—you're holding it <em>hostage?"</em> Cass asked incredulously, making a show of raising an eyebrow as she tried to push down the amused little smile that was threatening to creep into her face. The thought did occur to her to try to swipe it back, but he had clearly seen that coming from a mile away, so she was forced to purse her lips and pretend she didn't find his sudden relapse into dramatic hostage-taking almost silly. "That's what this is? I think I might just take it back, then."</p><p>Varian was clearly trying to hide a grin at her mock-threat, and didn't seem to mind that he wasn't succeeding very well.</p><p>"Ah-ah-ah!" he countered, turning a bit so she'd have to get past him to get at the satchel he held casually to his side. "A quality repair to such a one-of-a-kind item takes <em>time</em>, Cassandra," he continued, raising his eyebrows toward her and enunciating the words beyond what was necessary. She fought the urge to stick out her tongue at him, though the amount of trouble he was having not grinning at himself was contagious. "I'd hate to let something like this go until it's <em>properly</em> fixed."</p><p>Cass snorted. "Yeah, but at that rate? I might as well get Max to fix it."</p><p>"Well, since string clearly isn't <em>cutting it</em> for your lifestyle, I thought I'd look into some other options," Varian explained, a twinkle still in his eye, though his face fell back to a less joking expression. "Possibly ones that don't look, uh... quite that gaudy."</p><p>She had narrowed her eyes in disbelief, at first, and almost asked him if he'd really just made that pun—but uncertainty welled up in her at that last part, and suddenly her mind was on a different track.</p><p>"Oh—no; don't worry about it," she assured him quickly, mostly because she'd grown to like the handful of odd mementos she'd brought with her on her travels. Not that purple and blue beads <em>weren't</em> a little bright for her usual tastes, but she'd long since decided they were a nice splash of color to her traveling outfit. “It was fine the way it was.”</p><p>"You sure?" Varian asked hesitantly, raising an eyebrow as he seemed to picture it in his head. Judging by the look on his face, <em>that</em> was probably why he'd wanted two weeks—to do whatever alterations he had in mind between his business at the castle. "I could make it look a lot nicer. I mean—weren't the beads barely symmetrical?"</p><p>They were, but barely. But matching-but-asymmetrical was pretty much her style anyway, and she hadn't minded.</p><p>"It's fine, Varian. I liked it. But thanks."</p><p>He watched her for a brief moment with hesitant eyes, as if trying to look again and see if she really meant it. She did, and shot him a look for doubting it, until he smiled sheepishly and relented.</p><p>”You’re busy, anyway,” she added, because he had seemed to be preoccupied before she’d interrupted him. “You sure you don’t have to be anywhere?”</p><p>"Well, actually, I... probably should get these plans distributed around town," he replied with an apologetic little laugh. "Gotta get some to the carpenter, a couple to Xavier, and a bunch to the stonemason's place for him to look at. So, lots of walking."</p><p>Varian chuckled slightly, looking away with a nearly nervous draw to his eyebrows.</p><p>"Are you... doing anything this afternoon?" he asked, looking back to her with a clear but hesitant hope in his eyes.</p><p>She <em>might</em> have to go grab a cloak that wasn't as recognizable as the dusty black one she was wearing if she was going to venture into town, but getting some fresh air and familiarizing herself with what all had changed since she'd left didn't sound like a bad idea. Besides—if anyone would tell her <em>accurately</em> how things had been around here, it would be Varian.</p><p><em>Providing no one tries to lynch you while you're out there</em>, her mind provided helpfully, but she pushed down the thought. This was Corona, the self-proclaimed kingdom of the sun—home of people who had <em>almost</em> always been far too friendly for their own good. If she could manage a decent reputation from Vardaros to the Dark Kingdom, she could hold her own here. These weren't the days when her dad would tell her to stay home because he'd be overseeing the last punishments of criminals. <em>Thankfully</em>.</p><p>Corona had changed since then. Hopefully, its people and their opinions of criminals had too. Perhaps it was part of why the King and Queen hadn't gone back to ruling—Rapunzel's reign was gentler, but by no means ill-advised, and maybe that was why the King and Queen had only directed her to Rapunzel when she'd come to them two years ago for her sentence.</p><p><em>She</em> had changed since all of that, too. It wouldn't be so bad to try to make it up to a friend.</p><p>"Depends," she replied, raising an eyebrow at him with a little smile. "You need an assistant?"</p><p>Varian’s eyes went wide and he blinked, clearly not having expected her to say that. Then, his eyes brightened up—a <em>bright</em>, light blue she hadn't remembered really noticing before—and he put on a cocky grin, giving her an exaggerated little nod and clearly trying to mask excitement at the idea.</p><p>"I think that would make things go <em>much</em> more smoothly," he agreed, in a playfully casual way that made her smile.</p><p>She smirked a little, tilting her head toward the ramp that led down into the castle courtyard.</p><p>"Then yeah," she replied, and the the breeze was warm and bright as it blew through their hair and ruffled the plants in the flowerbeds. "I'm booked."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I had exactly two (2) things in this chapter that needed fixed up, and they both gave me so much trouble that it took this long to post. Apparently my definition of 'editing' is 'adding 3k of other details while still not managing to fix what I needed to edit'. Excuse the excessively-long chapter! This one still needs a lot of polishing. XD (On the bright side, I got very distracted and may or may not have loosely planned out a few more fics in the same continuity as this one. We'll see how that goes!)</p><p>I LOVE the headcanon that Catalina was the first one to call Lance "Dad", and he squealed about it for weeks. They probably both call him that now, and I feel like he's still the happiest dad ever. I have a oneshot for them I need to finish, too!</p><p>Also, I don't have a lot of evidence for it, but I feel like Rapunzel's birthday may have been in early-ish springtime? In the movie, it was warm and sunny, and there were enough flowers in bloom for Rapunzel to end up with a ton braided into her hair. The beginning of the series is set six months later—and as we see in What The Hair, it's apple season then! Apples usually ripen late summer to mid-fall, at least in latitudes that tend to have orchards. That leaves only six months between that episode and Rapunzel's next birthday in Secret of the Sundrop, and I don't think Queen for a Day was set very long before the season finale. This way, the blizzard could’ve happened in late-ish winter—since no one acted like it was out of season, just unexpected in Corona's evidently warm and temperate climate. (Or maybe we have a canon date for Rapunzel's birthday and I just haven't seen it yet. I'll have to check on that before I continue speculating! May 15 seems like a decent date, but I haven't been able to figure out where Google got that from. XD) (I do love the idea that it's on the longest day of summer, but I feel like Secret of the Sundrop didn't take place that long after QFAD, and I'm pretty sure Before Ever After/What The Hair didn't take place in the middle of winter.)</p><p>(...On that note, I'm just now realizing that Eugene <i>did</i> end up on an island somewhere warm and sunny, surrounded by enormous piles of money. XDD It's a good lesson, though—it was when he stopped wanting a selfish dream like that that he ended up getting so much more!)</p><p>Come to think of it, I don't think there has been a single un-crashed birthday party in the entire series. Maybe this next one will go a little better for Rapunzel?</p><p>Next stop, <s>ANYWHEEERE</s> the lanterns! (And a chapter that might actually have a little bit of shippiness in it, if that’s what you’re here for!) Stay tuned! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Fluff! Angst! Balloon rides! This chapter has it all! XD</p><p>So sorry for the huge delay! Some IRL things came up and life's been a little hectic, but I think things are settling down now. Hopefully this double (no, wait, <em>triple;</em> gah)-length chapter will make up for the wait! On the bright side, I also got distracted and wrote a bunch of way-later-on shippy fluff for these two, so we'll see if I ever get those finished up and posted. They should be up eventually!</p><p>Hopefully this has enough Cassarian (<em>hints</em>, they're hints right now) to count for Cassarian Month! ...Which was ages ago now, but shhh. Doesn't every month work for that? XD As you can probably tell, I get very distracted writing friendshippy character interactions. I have way too much fun doing that and then forget where I was going to go with my chapters. </p><p>I think I just doubled the length of the entire story so far with this chapter, so please excuse it being vastly overwritten. There's a few spots that you can tell I wrote before adding as much as I did to the middle, which I still need to smooth out. Don't let yourselves take months to write a chapter, kids! Or this might happen!</p><p>Quick note—I did move one or two (somewhat unneeded) details out of the previous chapter and into this chapter. If there's a line or two you feel like you read before, that's why! I still need to do a lot of minor editing so this story flows better, so I'll gradually be picking away at that. I also need to practice writing shorter chapters, but it looks like that'll have to wait for another day.</p><p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>Not</em> that she considered herself the kind of person who would notice it, but the world had sunsets in myriad colors.</p><p>In Galcrest, they were all shades of blue—maybe yellow at the horizon as the sun slipped under, especially during the early winters. In Ingvarr, they were pale blue and pink. In Neserdnia, they reminded her of the lava flows and blood oranges that were easy to find there. On places like Arshanga, they were all those colors stacked up at once, and she could see at least one reason why Willow liked to spend so much time in the tropics. (She could also see that Rapunzel had definitely rubbed off on her way too much, at least judging by how she was subconsciously recalling which types of paints she would've needed to pick up at the market to recreate those scenes.)</p><p>Only in Corona, though, were the sunsets so purple and gold.</p><p>It was part of the reason for the kingdom's emblem. A golden sun on a purple sky—and although the sunset had never been seen as a good omen like the sunrise, there was one day a year when the entire kingdom gathered outside in anticipation of the time when twilight began to turn dark.</p><p>Rapunzel's birthday was beginning to come to a close, and the sky overhead was dimming to a wash of periwinkle. The warm evening breeze that wove through the castle courtyard had begun to have a thin vein of coolness to it. A bright golden gleam of light wavered on the waves of the bay in reflections of a sinking sun, and even though the castle terrace was in shadows, sunlight still shone on the mountaintops on the mainland. In the east, blue that would turn to black was just starting to creep upward, and Cassandra couldn't help but think it looked like the Dark Kingdom was sending its own well-wishes to its sister kingdom.</p><p>(That was another thing she'd learned in her travels—Edmund, who apparently could <em>not</em> hold a grudge nearly as well as Cass thought he might, had seemed eager to tell her that Corona had gladly agreed to be a supporter of his efforts to rebuild. It made sense, Cass supposed—the sole heirs to both kingdoms weren't far from being married, if they hadn't been already.)</p><p>(Cass had winced at the time, because Coronan weddings customarily took place in the summertime, and if the wedding was that year like Rapunzel had said they'd wanted it to be, she'd very likely missed it. Edmund had been happy to offer safe passage back to Corona if she wanted to send Owl with a message of well-wishing—something that had mildly bewildered her until she'd learned he had already been planning to send a large part of his raven flock to his son as a post-wedding gift. She was still endlessly amused by that and had supported Edmund wholeheartedly in giving his son a random flock of birds.)</p><p>Here, though—at least from her view at the rear corner of the terrace—the sky and the breeze and the colors of the ocean were the same as they had always been.</p><p>Rapunzel's birthday celebration, on the other hand... had changed, in the time she'd been gone.</p><p>Mostly just for the better, Cass knew. But it still felt odd to see new traditions she'd never been a part of, even though she'd celebrated this day for many years longer than Rapunzel had. And there were <em>lots</em> of new traditions—things like the streets of the city being covered in chalk art that would wash away with the next rain. Things like how loud the kingdom dance was—it seemed that everyone attended it, now that the new Queen and her husband danced with more energy than anyone as they whirled through the centers of the streets. Things like <em>almost</em> getting pulled into dancing, thanks to a friendly princess and a bunch of sort-of family, and just barely being able to slip away from it before townspeople started noticing her.</p><p>And then there were things like the <em>hot air balloons</em> that were currently going up around the edges of the castle courtyard. Smallish ones, all in light russet silk that was lit up gold, molded with ropes into a lantern shape and decorated with Corona's emblem on the front. It looked a bit surreal, to see a line of them tethered to stakes and to the railing, facing away from her—it wasn't quite sundown yet, but she had to imagine that it would end up resembling a set of giant lanterns to the rest of the people on the island below.</p><p>Even as she stood alone in the shadows on one end of the terrace, it was hard not to want to do <em>something</em> to help. Everywhere she looked, the castle staff milled about, maids and guards and groundskeepers all beginning to filter out of sight after a long day of making sure everything was in good order.</p><p>(She had been one of those people for years, either cleaning the hallways or helping with decorations or tailing her dad as he organized all the guard details that would be needed for the ceremony. Even now, a little part of herself chided her, feeling like she should definitely be pitching in—and maybe she would have, had Rapunzel not insisted firmly that she was a guest and would not be doing anything but enjoying herself.)</p><p>(She had almost still gone to Eugene to see what she could help with, but the idea of going to <em>Fitzherbert</em> and asking for a task was just—not really something she wanted to have to live down afterward. She might've asked Varian if he needed a hand, but he'd had Lance and a few guards helping him already, and supervising them seemed to have him pretty preoccupied. He seemed to have taken charge of making sure everything was in proper order, balloons and lantern safety included.)</p><p>Voices all around her faded in and out of earshot as guards arrived to join the others who were getting instructions from Eugene or keeping a lookout. Eugene was easy to spot, even from clear across the terrace, in part due to his clown-colored (sorry, <em>bright</em> red and impossible-to-keep-clean white) captain's uniform and the white-and-gold sash he'd worn for the occasion. She hadn't seen Rapunzel or the King and Queen since earlier, but everyone she did see was dressed in their outdoorsy best.</p><p>Her own outfit was really just a nicer version of her travel attire that Rapunzel had found for her, since her "adventure outfit", as it had apparently been dubbed, was mended in a lot of places and a little too steeped in road dust and horse hair to get all the way clean. Something about either outfit still felt a little off, however—and it'd taken her a few days to figure out that it was the absence of her coin pouch on her belt. It wasn't much, but it'd been her second re-making of one of the first things she'd sewn for herself when she was small. (Her very first one she'd lost, and the second one had been destroyed when... well, when unbreakable armor had all but grown out of her skin.) It was unimpressive to keep forgetting she didn't have it, considering that she'd given it to someone willingly—but she often felt a split second of absentminded panic every time she brushed the empty space on her belt instead.</p><p>Not that it was <em>that</em> important. She'd just always needed to keep track of it when she'd used it for money, was all.</p><p>Besides, she was still due to get it back later.</p><p>Despite what she'd expected, she hadn't seen much of Varian over the last two weeks. (At least outside of Rapunzel eagerly rounding everyone up for meals and activities—which, to be fair, happened pretty frequently. That always ended up being more of a crowd scene, though, and it'd taken longer than she'd admit to warm up to the idea of regaling then all with tales of adventures over dinner.) His absence had confused her a little, until she'd heard that the main two hot water boilers under the castle were acting up.</p><p>"<em>He's... a little upset all this happened while you were here</em>," Rapunzel had said, if a bit sheepishly at talking about him while he wasn't around. "<em>Maybe we should go see him? I feel bad that he hasn't been able to get anyone else to take over fixing everything once in awhile."</em></p><p>So, they had gone down to the closest underground pathways below the castle—the sturdy stone-and-block tunnels that ran all under the island and beyond, which <em>did</em> look like a much safer place to put giant boilers than the aging cavern system that branched beneath Old Corona.</p><p>They'd found Varian on top of one of the huge boilers, apparently having deactivated it to climb up into the crisscrossing pipe system that ran upward from it. They could barely see the top of his head and hints of his goggles from where he lay atop the machine, just under a large array of piping he'd opened up that seemed to run up into the castle.</p><p>"Oh—hey! How'd the meeting with the Neserdnian chancellor go?" he'd asked Rapunzel conversationally as soon as she'd said hello. He didn't disentangle himself from his work look at them, and Cass couldn't help but wonder if he realized that Rapunzel hadn't come alone.</p><p>Rapunzel had blinked, but smiled a little as if she'd meant to tell him that anyway.</p><p>"Oh! Good; really good," she'd replied with an amiable nod. "I was able to mention we had a Royal Engineer who would be <em>very</em> interested in working out a trade agreement with their scientists and inventors."</p><p>Varian had chuckled sheepishly, but he sounded pleased. "You weren't by any chance able to negotiate him out of any more copper-plated alembics, were you? Mine got a little corroded with a few too many acid tests. Theirs are a <em>really</em> nice quality."</p><p>"No, sorry. He, ah..." Rapunzel's face had gone a little awkward, and Cass flinched a little in remembrance of the day before. She hadn't been at the meeting, of course, but when Rapunzel's smile had been a little forced after the end of it, the most she'd been able to get out of Eugene for an explanation was a <em>you'd think other kingdoms wouldn't care so much about who we decide to pardon</em>. Cass had winced at the time, because the last thing she'd intended by visiting her friends was to interfere with inter-kingdom politics. "...just wasn't feeling very talkative, I guess."</p><p>Varian went quiet.</p><p>"...Did you tell him Cass was here?" he asked quietly, an odd edge to his voice, and Cass nearly tensed. Guilt pricked at her for not announcing her presence sooner, and Rapunzel glanced awkwardly between them for a second, seeming to feel the same way.</p><p>"<em>I</em> didn't, and it shouldn't matter to him that much, anyway. Cass <em>is</em> here, by the way."</p><p>"How's it going up there?" Cass had called up, hoping there was a sufficient note of both apology and casual greeting in her voice.</p><p>"O—OH!" There was a resounding <em>bang</em> on metal as Varian sat up far too fast and struck his head on the pipe above him. Cass had flinched from phantom pains on her own head at the sound. "<em>Cass!</em> Hi!"</p><p>Cass couldn't help an awkward chuckle, because it was hard not to feel the secondhand embarrassment that radiated off him in waves. It was hard to see him in the dim shadows under the ceiling, but he twisted around to face them and shoved his goggles up, looking <em>extremely</em> apologetic.</p><p>"S-Sorry, I—uh, heh—I didn't mean—"</p><p>There had been a time when she had been in that situation more than once or twice. The main difference was that she had refused to act embarrassed and hadn't apologized. She'd really lost the right to mind being talked about by others—particularly when they were telling the truth.</p><p>"Hey, if people were <em>glad</em> I came back, I would be really surprised," she'd agreed with a dry chuckle. The thought didn't feel <em>good</em>, but she could face that reality. She certainly couldn't blame them. "Anything we can toss ya up there?"</p><p>There had been a pause, like he wanted to say something to that but had hesitated. Finally, he sat up more fully, one hand on a disconnected pipe to keep his head away from it, and cracked an awkward smile as he glanced toward a nearby table full of tools.</p><p>"...Well, uh... any chance either of you know what a seven-eighths pipe wrench looks like?"</p><p>Mechanics hadn't been something she'd done much of on the road, but she had gotten grease on her hands here and there. Ingvarr worked with a <em>lot</em> of steam power. Cass looked to the table, scanning for anything she recognized.</p><p>"I know what a monkey wrench looks like," she'd offered with a raise of her eyebrows.</p><p>"That'll do it," he'd replied with a little grin, and when she'd tossed the wrench to him, he had caught it with ease.</p><p>Today, however, he and everyone else had been hurrying around all day, because apparently Rapunzel's birthdays needed a <em>lot</em> more preparation now than they had in the years the princess was gone. It was a little nice, she had to admit—this would really be the first year they'd all be here together for the ceremony. As friends, at least. It would certainly be a nice change from working stable duty and packing for convent, or wandering a maze of black rocks and darkness—or even just staring at the purple skies in the west, trying to focus on the gait of her horse rather than the tug of something like regret in her chest.</p><p>For now, she was content to observe as people bustled around the last hot air balloon that was due to go up on the terrace. It was a rolled-out pile of silk on the stone ground, and currently stood out in contrast to the others that were inflated and tethered down at intervals around the courtyard. She could see Varian working around the gas burner that was framed above the basket, pulling at the silk and ropes overhead and operating some kind of mechanical fan to put a small amount of air in the balloon so nothing was liable to touch the flame when the burner was lit.</p><p>He wore a slightly fancier version of what he'd worn before she'd left, she noticed—a lot of it looked the same, but the Corona insignia and faint gold designs on his vest were new, and the main difference today was the lack of apron. He pulled off the look a lot better than Eugene did his bright colors; she'd give him that.</p><p>At last, the burner lit up and the final hot air balloon began to inflate, the huge mass of silk expanding in slow motion as it gained shape and began to rise up. As soon as the sac had lifted a few feet off the ground, Varian ducked under it, neck craned and one hand on his goggles to hold them in place atop his head. He didn't take his eyes off it until it was fully expanded and in its proper position, and even then it was just to motion to Stan and Pete to tie down some additional ropes.</p><p>Deciding that Rapunzel would forgive her for wanting to do <em>something</em> more interesting today than just tail her and Eugene, Cass stepped out of the shadows and decided to see how inconspicuously she could weave her way through the crowd of guards who were heading to their final stations for the evening. (She could sneak through fairly well, as it turned out, though no amount of stealth could wholly prevent the handful of wary or nervous looks sent her way by those who focused on her long enough to recognize her.)</p><p>When she reached Varian, he was taking a quick break to get some water. She stopped beside him and smirked, glancing up to the towering balloon that now swayed overhead.</p><p>"Not bad for a bunch of hot air, huh?" she offered.</p><p>Varian nodded enthusiastically as he gulped down his water, then grinned as he set down the flask on the railing. Several sets of ropes were tied tight to the balustrade, while the other side of the balloon was tethered down to some massive sandbags and what looked like an old cannon stand from the armory. The balloon itself stayed weighted to the ground with the others, though even with the burner barely lit, it looked like it might drift up a few inches any minute.</p><p>"I know, right?" Varian agreed, eyes more lit up than usual with reflections of the fire from the burner. His gaze flickered to her with a little more of a warm smile in greeting. "We did this last year and it looked <em>so</em> cool. Just wait till it gets dark; they actually light up the whole courtyard pretty well."</p><p>Cass chuckled, easily able to imagine it as she glanced up at the huge silk lanterns for a moment.</p><p>"I'll bet. You got all this handled okay?"</p><p>"Oh, yeah," he replied with a modest wave of his hand, affecting a confident expression that was somewhat belied by the way his eyes darted back up to the balloon as if to make sure he was telling the truth. "Heh. I've worked on way more balloons than this." He raised an eyebrow at her, then, eyes curious. "What do you think of the new additions to the festival?"</p><p>The dancing, and chalk artistry, and everything in the city streets were certainly festive enough, but they had always been there, to an extent—the main addition <em>she'd</em> seen was the row of giant lanterns against a dusky purple sky, and it was something of a sight to behold. It probably would look impressive when the sky got dark and the gold light in them was more prominent. Cass glanced to him with a bit of a smirk.</p><p>"Pretty impressive. I bet the Saporians are mad you took their hot air balloons, huh?"</p><p>Varian let out a slightly forced chuckle at that. "<em>Yeaaah</em>... among other things," he replied, almost under his breath, and too late, she internally berated herself. She hadn't even been there when <em>he'd</em> dealt with Andrew and his apparent gang, and he'd had far less of the upper hand she'd enjoyed. Could she really not make conversation without bringing up past mistakes?</p><p>For what it was worth, Varian didn't seem to mind.</p><p>"It really is an amazing work of science, though," he continued, eyes regaining their spark as he looked up at the balloon again. "They harness the exact same power source as the lanterns—the decreased weight of heated air."</p><p>She smiled slightly in return—although... <em>something</em> suddenly didn't feel quite right. The hair on the back of her neck stood up, and her ears caught an odd almost-sound, like that of hurried, near-silent footsteps. <em>Running</em> footsteps.</p><p>"SNEAK ATTACK!" a voice shouted suddenly from behind her as the footsteps rushed in, and Cass' instincts flipped into overdrive. Despite knowing—at least in theory—that <em>we're safe, this is a safe place, no one who actually meant harm would yell 'sneak attack' </em>that<em> loudly</em>—her head still jerked around as her eyes sharpened, and her whole body tensed, one hand hovering over the dagger on her belt.</p><p>The twin blurs latched onto Varian, however, in what was more like a tackle-hug. Varian jerked his arms up over their heads, but his expression when he regarded a snickering Kiera and Catalina seemed more amused than surprised.</p><p>Varian raised his eyebrows, expression almost a little smug, and he smirked at them in a friendly manner as he narrowed his eyes. "Not <em>that</em> sneaky; I heard you coming. You guys excited for the lanterns?"</p><p>The girls pulled back at about the same time, and Kiera was quick to fold her arms and shoot him an unimpressed look, sticking out her tongue. Cass quickly forced her hand to drop from over her dagger, trying to pretend her heart wasn't still pounding from adrenaline like it had from ambushes so many times on the road.</p><p>"You did not; we're the <em>Silent Strikers</em>," Kiera mumbled in disagreement, and Varian raised his eyebrows skeptically, a bit of a smile still twitching at his face. "But if you have to know, yeah! Kind of a bummer we had to dress up, though."</p><p>"<em>Excuse</em> you, it is an <em>honor</em> to appear with the royal court on the Queen's birthday," Varian teased in a fake-haughty voice. He smiled, and his voice fell back to normal. "And hey, you guys look great. A couple more hours, and the party'll be over before you know it."</p><p>Catalina's gaze dropped shyly at the compliment, while Kiera just rolled her eyes and shrugged, though there was a tiny hint of a smile on her face. Cass smirked a little at them, eyes sympathetic.</p><p>"I don't really like dressing up either," she confided in a conspiratorial whisper, winking slyly. "I always see how casual <em>I</em> can get away with."</p><p>Kiera grinned and nodded in agreement. Something in Catalina's expression told her that she didn't <em>quite</em> feel as strongly about it as her sister, but didn't want to say anything.</p><p>"Your hair's pretty," Catalina noted shyly instead, giving Cass a little smile.</p><p>In reality, the only thing she'd done with her hair was comb it in front of a mirror for once, but Cass had long since accepted the fact that 'a slightly neater mess' was the most ambitious hairstyle she really ever liked to pull off. Still, she gave Catalina a warm little smile in return, because it was nice to hear that it didn't look <em>too</em> bad.</p><p>"I bet someone else thinks so," Kiera muttered, and it was hard to miss how she looked sideways at Varian with a smug look. "Right, V?"</p><p>Varian, his expression flat and eyebrows knit together in annoyance, threw his hands up in exasperation. "<em>What</em> have I ever done to you?"</p><p>That... didn't really answer the little question that had been nagging at the back of her mind since she'd gotten here, but judging by the combination of his annoyed look and slightly red face, it could go either way.</p><p>Kiera huffed a little, folding her arms and rolling her eyes at his question.</p><p>"You tell us <em>no</em> whenever we want to help you with your science stuff," she complained. "It's always 'don't touch that!'. About <em>everything</em>. It's boring!"</p><p>Varian folded his arms back at her and raised his eyebrows, apparently having heard this before. "I am <em>pretty</em> sure you are just still mad that I won't teach you how to make smoke bombs."</p><p>"Yeah! Why won't you?"</p><p>Varian gave her an unimpressed look.</p><p>"I will teach you guys how to make explosives when you actually have a reason for needing that information. Don't you have lanterns to get ready?"</p><p>"Mine's ready," Catalina piped in, and though her voice was soft, it was still excited. Her little smile was almost apologetic when she glanced to Varian, like she was hoping to change the subject for him. "Dad's holding ours for us. We painted them earlier."</p><p>"Yeah. Hers is cooler, though," Kiera acknowledged with a little shrug, shooting a smug little smile at her sister. "It has our family tree leaf on one side, and the wolf's mark on the other. It's like, 'aw, what a nice leaf!' and then <em>BAM</em>, the ancient mark of a <em>werewolf curse!"</em></p><p>Catalina's shoulders bobbed once with a silent giggle, though she rolled her eyes a bit in embarrassment and tried to look away. "It's just a paw print."</p><p>Cass couldn't help but smile at their antics. She glanced to Kiera with a raised brow. "What'd you put on yours?"</p><p>Kiera made a bit of a face and shrugged. "Well, I tried to draw a tree, but it ended up looking like an explosion. So I just made it an explosion!"</p><p>"And you wonder why I don't trust you with alchemy bombs," Varian deadpanned, raising his eyebrows in teasing. Kiera just made a face at him. This seemed to be nothing new for either of them, however, and he glanced over the girls' heads and across the terrace, to where the bustle of people was beginning to thin out. "O-kay, how 'bout you guys go find Lance? I think Eugene's about to start talking."</p><p>"Oh boy," Kiera said in such a sarcastic voice that Catalina snorted and burst into a few giggles. Kiera's mouth twitched upward into a smile as she glanced sideways at her sister, eyes gleaming with mischief, clearly at least a little proud of herself.</p><p>"Nice kids," Cass remarked once they had left to find their dad. They did seem to be excited—they skipped and leapt and somersaulted through the crowd across the terrace, dodging people and sticking to the shadows until she could see Lance proudly hoist them both up onto his shoulders at the other side.</p><p>A smile flickered across Varian's face, and he shrugged, nodding in agreement.</p><p>"Yeah, they're pretty great. They and Lance get along really well, so... at least they're all getting to grow up together, I guess."</p><p>Cass chuckled a little despite herself. "Oh, so Lance has grown up some too, huh?"</p><p>Varian snickered, and Cass somehow got the feeling that Lance had done a few things to merit Varian's good-natured ire. "Yeah. I think it's the 'being a dad' thing. My dad says it puts thirty years on your life right away."</p><p>While her own father probably wouldn't <em>disagree</em> with that idea, Cass liked to think he wouldn't say it out loud, either. She couldn't help but snort. "You were a handful?"</p><p>"Intentionally? No. Unintentionally?" Varian, still looking around the courtyard, raised his eyebrows high and nodded in full agreement. "<em>Oh yeah</em>," he chuckled under his breath.</p><p>Cass pushed down a smile and followed his gaze to where Eugene was making one more circuit around, head turning this way and that as he scanned the area.</p><p>When he reached them, Eugene clapped his hands together briefly, looking extremely distracted.</p><p>"All right, how are things looking?" Eugene asked, eyebrows furrowed and eyes still darting around to make sure everything looked fine himself. He didn't give anyone a chance to answer, continuing his observations instead. "Lookin' good, people? All right."</p><p>"You'll get stress lines if you make that face for much longer," Cass teased with a sly smirk, which did seem to jerk him out of his concentration, if only a little.</p><p>Eugene gave her a flat look, though to her amusement, his expression did smooth out. "That is <em>not</em> a joke-appropriate topic, thank you Cass<em>and</em>ra," he replied dryly. He quickly resumed glancing around, mind clearly going a mile a minute trying to keep on top of everything he was organizing. "Everything good on your end, Goggles? And you two wouldn't happen to have seen the girl of honor, would you?"</p><p>"Balloons are all under control; I will keep it that way if I have any say in it," Varian replied with an easy nod. His eyes flickered up to one of the castle windows, and his brow furrowed for a moment before he chuckled. "...Oh, and, uh—there's Rapunzel."</p><p>Long banners had been draped across the castle walls and hung from the upper-story windows, and the most prominent one stretched high above the front doorway—though even in the shadows that were beginning to cloak the front of the castle, it was easy to see a figure leaning out with the end of the banner bundled in their hand.</p><p>It was also easy to see that the figure was Rapunzel when it pulled the banner taut and <em>jumped out the window.</em></p><p>Cass' first instinct was to tense as her heart jumped into her throat and a surge of old protectiveness shot through her. But—even from here, it was easy to see how tightly the banner had been bound at the other end, and how Rapunzel swung balancing her weight with a purposeful, practiced ease. The banner whirled and whipped around at the bottom as it began a pendulum motion, but the princess just let it guide her around as it swung back, where she hopped off and landed neatly as if she'd been doing it all her life.</p><p>She had been, practically. Cass let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, and when she shot an amused glance to the others, she could see them doing the same, their eyes lingering on the princess in concern.</p><p>"She still doing that?" she asked, a bit quietly, eyebrow raised.</p><p>Varian chuckled stiffly, looking a lot like she felt. "Oh yeah. And it scares <em>literally</em> everybody. ...Except us. Most of the time."</p><p>Well... <em>that</em> was being friends with Rapunzel for you. A fond smirk had crept onto her face at the absolutely <em>ridiculous</em> sense of nostalgia she was getting before she could stop it.</p><p>"That's our girl."</p><p>Rapunzel spotted them almost immediately, waving with a wide smile. It took her a minute to make her way through the thinning crowd of castle staff—everyone seemed to want to give her their well-wishes, and those were never something Rapunzel would turn down returning—but finally, she swept up beside Eugene, looping an arm through his and shooting an eager smile to Cass and Varian. Pascal—who had somehow stayed happily perched on Rapunzel's shoulder through all that, with skill that could only be attributed to a <em>life</em> of practice—flicked his tail in greeting, looking none the worse for wear.</p><p>"I think you scared the guards there, Sunshine," Eugene teased with a wry grin, raising his eyebrows at her.</p><p>Rapunzel had the decency to look a <em>little</em> sheepish, clearly able to tell that Eugene somewhat included himself in that grouping. Still, she put her free hand on her hip and smiled up at him, eyes sparkling.</p><p>"Well, I happen to know that they've faced <em>much</em> scarier things than me," she teased back, withdrawing her arm from his to reach up and boop him playfully on the nose. He closed his eyes and smiled softly at the touch. "You'll have to tell them they're plenty brave enough to handle a <em>little</em> excitement now and then."</p><p>Eugene returned the gentle smile he always gave at their exchanges, but there was a shred of seriousness in his eyes that Cass could recognize—the silent conviction that losing <em>Rapunzel</em> was a thought worse than facing Zhan Tiri or any other danger. It was hard not to share the sentiment—there were thousands of soldiers and guards who had always been ready to fall and be replaced if need be, but there was only one Rapunzel. There was only one person with <em>that</em> much light and faith in others—even out of all the people she'd met in the Seven Kingdoms and beyond. It would be the world's worst loss to lose her.</p><p>(Not that she had any room to think that, a familiar stab of guilt chided her—at least not without acknowledging her old status as the world's worst friend and traitor.)</p><p>Judging by the expressions of the others (other criminals, other ex-convicts, <em>other friends</em>) as they smiled and seemed to force most of the tenseness from their shoulders, they felt at least somewhat the same. Rapunzel <em>had</em> seemed to have become a little more perceptive, even since she'd left—she gave Eugene's hand a brief squeeze for comfort, an apology in her eyes, and Cass had the feeling she wouldn't be doing that again out of respect for her friends.</p><p>(It was always... <em>refreshing</em> for someone to curb what they wanted out of respect for others, with no hard feelings or any kind of bitterness attached. She wasn't sure where to begin doing that herself, but—it was a good trait to keep in mind.)</p><p>Rapunzel looked out over toward the mainland, and Cass followed her gaze to the mountains that jutted against the dimming sky. The highest peak still had a faint glimmer of sunlight caught on it, but a moment passed and that slipped away, replaced by soft purple shadows.</p><p>"Well, that's sundown, everybody!" Eugene announced, turning to hold out a hand to his wife. He smiled softly, affecting a chivalrous voice. "If I may have a word with the good people of Corona?"</p><p>"You certainly may," Rapunzel replied with a bright smile, accepting his hand without hesitation.</p><p>They turned and went up to address the crowd, standing together at the front of the terrace, and though Cass couldn't see most of the people below from where she stood, she could certainly hear the familiar hush. It was the same one that had always fallen over the crowd when the old King and Queen had come out with their lantern—though it wasn't <em>quite</em> as quiet and respectful for Eugene, she noticed with a bit of a smirk.</p><p>Eugene gave a fanciful version of a dignified wave, then cleared his throat.</p><p>"<em>Alright</em>, friends and family and people who aren't either yet, I am happy to see your faces," he announced in the loud, slightly silly voice that had been one of the first things to reluctantly amuse her about him. "The lanterns'll be going up in a few minutes, so I'll keep it short."</p><p>Before he could continue, someone whistled loudly in approval at that. Even from behind him, it was easy to see Eugene shooting an unimpressed look toward where Kiera and Catalina were perched on Lance's shoulders, now giggling up a storm despite Lance's slightly embarrassed expression as he gave them a look of reprimand. Rapunzel's shoulders bobbed and she put a hand over her mouth to hide her own laughter. Eugene, with all his good graces, seemed to roll his eyes in good nature before he continued.</p><p>"Today we are here to honor not only living in the greatest kingdom under the sun, but something <em>I</em> find much more amazing. We're all here to celebrate the greatest Queen I'm <em>pretty</em> sure the world has ever seen—our wonderful ruler, friend, my <em>beautiful</em> wife, and a big sister to <em>literally</em> every single one of you under the age of—well, <em>twenty-three</em>, today."</p><p>There was scattered laughter in the crowd, and Rapunzel briefly smirked and gave a friendly little wave to a gaggle of kids near the front of it. Cass could hear their excited giggling from all the way up on the terrace.</p><p>Eugene turned to his wife and took her hands in his, holding them gently together between them. He grinned a little, clearly aiming for being charming and a little teasing.</p><p>"It has been five years and a day since I met this woman, and whew! Life has not gotten <em>any</em> less crazy." His voice softened a notch, and became gentle, but more serious. "Nor have I gotten any less crazy about her."</p><p>Rapunzel—<em>wow</em>, Rapunzel actually smiled and ducked her head a little, looking like she'd gone pink at his words. Or maybe it was at the soft look in his eyes when he looked at her, and the almost ridiculously romantic-<em>ness</em> that had always seemed to radiate off of both of them. Whatever the case—Rapunzel actually looking affected by Eugene's schmaltziness was something new, too.</p><p>"Happy twenty-third year, Rapunzel," Eugene finished quietly, and the love in his eyes was easy to see. "I hope it's your best one yet."</p><p>They closed their eyes and touched their foreheads together, and the crowds burst into a trail of distant, deafening applause from below, one that caught on like a wave and trailed off across the bridge and far out of hearing range, into the dimming twilight.</p><p>When the couple turned to come stand with their friends, they both had ridiculous smiles on their faces, and Cass had to roll her eyes and try to purse her lips down into something less amused. Judging by the way their eyes lit up a little more when they landed on her, she wasn't doing the best job.</p><p>"You guys gonna go out on the water again?" Cass asked when they got closer, because far be it from Rapunzel not to do something adventurous. It was only fair, she supposed—this was an anniversary for the two of them; of being free from the tower and from having to run from the law. Could it have been just five years since then? It felt like a lifetime ago.</p><p>"We're going to do something a little different this year, actually," Rapunzel replied with a silly, conspiratorial smile. She glanced sideways at the most prominent of the balloons, the one in the center that was anchored to the main balustrade, weighed down with sandbags and ropes. "I <em>love</em> being in a boat and feeling like you're floating in the sky, but I love floating <em>in</em> the sky, too. The view from up there is amazing! You should come up with us, Cass!"</p><p>Judging by the slightly awkward <em>please come up with some excuse to say no</em> face Eugene gave her at this, he had probably been planning on something romantic. Cass hesitated, unsure of what to say when Rapunzel was looking at her with so much hopeful excitement—but thankfully, Varian stepped in.</p><p>He cleared his throat quietly, eyes darting from Rapunzel to the smallish baskets of the balloons and back again, giving her a brief, apologetic look.</p><p>Rapunzel's eyes widened briefly and she winced, an apologetic look crossing her face. "...<em>Right</em>, you said two people at a time."</p><p>Varian shrugged, holding up his hands in a vague gesture as if weighing the possibilities. "I mean, in theory, they'd be fine, but they were built under the impression that they'd be <em>primarily</em> for decoration, so..."</p><p>"Now, not that I wouldn't <em>love</em> to experience the whole 'snake in a basket' thing firsthand, but aren't these things a little stronger than that?" Eugene asked, his curiosity clearly just slightly stronger than his lack of interest in her third-wheeling their ride. "I mean, this is us we're talking about. We loaded five people and two horses in one of these babies and flew clear from the Dark Kingdom!"</p><p>"Yeah, well, these are a <em>little</em> more decorative than the ones that were built for, say, providing potential air support for a separatist uprising."</p><p>"No problem! We can do that." Rapunzel gave Cass an amusingly serious look, pointing sternly between them with little room for discussion. "Pencil me in for some girl time later."</p><p>"Oh boy," Cass said in a playfully flat voice with raised eyebrows, and this time, Varian was the one who snickered. Rapunzel shot her a mock-unimpressed <em>I will hug the sass out of you, missy</em> expression, and Cass couldn't help but crack a small grin and avert her gaze.</p><p>Eugene turned to Maximus, who had come to stand beside him with a serious expression, clearly awaiting his next orders.</p><p>"Max, you're in charge of ground surveillance; I want security <em>tight</em>. Don't want a repeat of last year."</p><p>"What happened last year?" Cass asked.</p><p>"Ruffians," Rapunzel replied with a little smirk in a familiar tone, and Cass let out an embarrassed chuckle.</p><p>Max straightened up and nodded sharply, snorting once in reply. Eugene gave a small smile and a nod at the horse's resolute stance. "But do enjoy yourself," he added, eyes kinder than Cass was used to seeing.</p><p>"May we?" Rapunzel asked, glancing to Varian for confirmation as she took her husband's offered arm.</p><p>"Of course," Varian replied with a shrug and a little smirk. "Just remember, it's <em>clockwise</em> to go <em>up</em>, Eugene."</p><p>Eugene gave him a notably unimpressed look. "Ha ha. Are you sure? Because I feel like it was clockwise to go <em>down</em>."</p><p>"Well, you can definitely <em>try</em> that," Varian drawled, eyes half-lidded and a smirk spreading across his face. Cass had to stifle a snort, and he glanced sideways at her with a little grin before resuming his expression with more confidence. "Just let me know how it works out for you."</p><p>There was a brief battle of—well, not much other than their presences, as both Varian and Eugene had their arms folded and were <em>almost</em> leaning at each other a bit in half-playful challenge. Cass could've laughed at their evident friendly rivalry, especially when Rapunzel folded her own arms and rolled her eyes in an exaggerated boys motion.</p><p>Eugene seemed to notice, and wisely (wow, <em>wisely;</em> look at him go) opted to back off for the time being. He rolled his eyes as well, and let out a friendly sigh.</p><p>"Well, as much as I would <em>love</em> to continue this bout of repartee at my expense, we've only got ten minutes till lanterns. Allons-y!"</p><p>With a mock-formal farewell salute from Eugene, and a smile and quick <em>make sure you go have fun!</em> motion from Rapunzel, the pair left, and it was only because of the skip in Rapunzel's step that Cass noticed she was <em>still</em> barefoot. Not that anyone could expect anything less, of course—but it still was hard not to smile at that.</p><p>Varian cleared his throat almost too quietly to be heard in the chatter of the crowd, but Cass glanced back to him regardless. He gave an awkward smile and rocked up on his toes briefly as he glanced behind her at the row of balloons.</p><p>"<em>So,</em> I, uh—" he started, in that tone she'd never really heard from many other people—one that was somehow confidently casual, yet underlaid by a clear look of hesitance on his face, because he still seemed cautious of overstepping any lines. It went away as quickly as it'd come, however, as Varian's eyes suddenly snapped onto something a short distance behind her. "—Oh! Hey, Ruddiger! Get over here and say hi to Cassandra."</p><p>Cass turned to watch in uncertainty as the chubby raccoon stopped and gave them a look of annoyance before hopping toward them. It was... silly, she supposed, to feel a ball of slight wariness in her stomach, but she hadn't seen Ruddiger in a long time—not since  before he had reportedly decided it was far too much effort to leave Old Corona if he didn't feel like it, at any rate. The last time she'd come face-to-face with the raccoon, he hadn't been a raccoon at all—he'd been a fifteen-foot beast with solid white eyes and a dripping maw full of jagged teeth, and he had <em>not</em> looked very happy to see her.</p><p>He <em>still</em> didn't look happy. As soon as he'd hopped in front of her, Ruddiger—whose fur was just a little greyer and shaggier than she remembered—stood up on his hind feet and glared at her, chittering and shaking a pointed finger as if berating her for what she'd done. It almost would've been amusing, seeing a raccoon give someone such an animated, human-like talking-to, if it didn't feel so disconcertingly <em>deserved</em>.</p><p>Varian stiffened in surprise at the raccoon's actions, and a thoroughly embarrassed look crossed his face—but before he could say anything, Cass took a deep breath and knelt down to Ruddiger's level.</p><p>"Hey, I'm... sorry for what I did," she apologized quietly, and she hoped he could hear the sincerity in her voice. Most animals could, at least. Animals heard a lot of things that words didn't express. "I... know I hurt both of you guys." <em>And everyone, and I know words aren't going to fix it, and—I just—how does anyone say this out loud</em>— "...But I'm trying to do better. Would you... let me try to make it up to you?"</p><p>Ruddiger—who was still standing on his hind feet, with arms folded and nose twitching—narrowed his eyes at her with an unreadable expression for a moment. Then, as if that'd been all he'd needed to hear, he dropped back down to all fours with an amiable shrug, chittering once and shaking his tail before turning to scurry up to Varian's shoulders.</p><p>She was left crouching there for a moment, looking up at a suddenly-amicable Ruddiger standing wrapped around the back of Varian's head. Varian blinked down at her, an embarrassed look of a different type flickering across his face, and she quickly stood up.</p><p>An awkward smile still quirked at her lips, and she offered a hand to Ruddiger in a gesture of truce. The raccoon chittered and reached out to shake her gloved hand with his little raccoon one.</p><p>The look Ruddiger was giving her when she pulled back her hand was the complete opposite of what she'd expected—he looked almost <em>happy</em> to see her now. It was such a strong contrast from only a moment ago that Cass blinked, still trying to process it.</p><p>Varian gave his raccoon an unimpressed look. "Are you good now?"</p><p>Ruddiger nodded, chittering like that was the only thing that had needed cleared up. Cass wasn't entirely sure how she'd managed to clear things up for him that quickly in the first place, but at least that seemed to be settled.</p><p>Varian offered her a sheepish smile in apology, before turning to glance up again at the row of hot air balloons.</p><p>The silk glowed gold against the darkening sky, and when Cass looked over, she could see Rapunzel and Eugene helping loosen the sandbags weighing theirs to the ground, letting out some of the slack in the tethering ropes.</p><p>"Hey, so, uh..." Varian started again, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm in charge of keeping an eye on these, but... I kinda like to supervise from where I can see everything better."</p><p>She didn't reply, yet, because she had the feeling he hadn't gotten to his point. From where he was perched on Varian's shoulders, Ruddiger rolled his eyes upward and shouldered Varian in the ear in a <em>hurry up</em> gesture.</p><p>"Do you want to go up?" Varian asked, eyes and voice hesitant.</p><p>Cass raised an eyebrow. "Us?"</p><p>An awkward shadow crossed his face, but Varian only shrugged, tilting his head a bit toward the raccoon on his shoulders.</p><p>"Plus Ruddiger," he elaborated quickly, and Ruddiger fluffed out his tail in affirmation. "I mean, half of these go up empty, anyway. And I just like to keep an eye on things. You don't have to."</p><p>Maybe it was fleeting remnants of a day when she'd flown like a bird, memories of the wind under her feet and the view from up there. Maybe it was the surge of thrill-seeking excitement that always came from the thought of being high above where most people dared to go, catching the enticing breeze that trailed upward into the night. Maybe it was the desire to ignore the last time she'd been in one and just <em>actually</em> enjoy herself for once, no strings attached.</p><p>Maybe it was to avoid the constant stares she could feel on her back, now that she'd emerged from the shadows—wary from the guards, nervous from the handmaidens, and utterly <em>sharp</em> with fear or anger from the occasional townsperson who'd caught a glimpse of her despite her best efforts to stay unnoticed.</p><p>Maybe it was for the same reason Rapunzel had always painted birds on everything. Flying was <em>freeing</em>.</p><p>Whatever the case, Cass let her gaze linger on the balloon a moment longer before meeting Varian's hesitant gaze.</p><p>"As long as you're doing the flying," she agreed with a little smile, and despite it all, his eyes lit up.</p><p>—</p><p>Taking flight was always something else.</p><p>When the gas burner flared and the balloon expanded until it was taut, and ropes were loosened and sandbags let down—that was when that feeling of weightlessness occurred, the strange sensation of the floor rising swiftly beneath your feet. The bottom of the basket scuffed against the stone terrace as it swung up off the ground, and Cass gripped the side of the basket for a bit of support as Varian held onto the gas controls and one of the safety ropes strung overhead.</p><p>That odd half-second when gravity reversed only lasted a moment, however—after that, they were just <em>rising</em>, drifting slowly up into the air as the slack unraveled out of the ropes, until they reached the end about five yards off the ground. To their left, the whole row of balloons along the terrace railing were going up, forming a row of silk lanterns that floated low and bright in front of the castle.</p><p>Cass couldn't help a slight smile as the world dropped around her and then came to a standstill. Seafaring really wasn't her thing, and she'd already traveled a <em>lot</em> by land—but by air?</p><p>Flight was something she wouldn't mind getting used to.</p><p>Ruddiger, who had been set on the floor of the basket but seemed to want to see the view for himself, suddenly climbed up her clothes and wrapped around the back of her head to stand on her shoulders—an action which made her tense for a moment and then hiss in pain.</p><p>The raccoon was more observant than she would've given him credit for, however. He ducked his head in apology and lifted up his paw from where it'd been pressing into one of her still-healing scars.</p><p>"Sorry," Cass murmured, quickly putting her own hand over the sore spot. "Just not there, okay?"</p><p>Ruddiger averted his eyes and tucked the offending paw against his chest, looking so apologetic that Cass couldn't help but smile in reassurance.</p><p>"No, hey. You're fine," she assured him softly. He blinked at her—and up close, she could see that despite the fact that he'd gotten older and his muzzle was greying a bit, his eyes hadn't lost their signature gleam. "You're lookin' good; it's nice to see you again. Mm-hm?"</p><p>She reached up to tickle him on the chin, and Ruddiger chittered happily and rubbed the side of his face against her finger, looking proud of himself for garnering such attention.</p><p>He carefully put his foot back down in a spot that wasn't sore, then pressed his fluffy cheek against the side of her face. Coarse whiskers tickled her cheek as he curled around her head a little tighter in what almost felt like a hug. Cass gave a surprised little laugh at the sensation, craning her head away and gently pushing his bristly face back so it at least wasn't <em>completely</em> blocking her peripherals.</p><p>She glanced back to Varian with a look of amusement, only to find him watching the exchange with an odd expression. His eyes were soft, however, and when she met his gaze, he quickly gave a little smile.</p><p>The island sprawled out all around them, sloping down toward a shadowy ocean, and the massive stone bridge stretching across the channel looked almost small where it was lit only by a few small oil lamps. Beyond that, mountains and forests stood tall on the mainland, darkening by the minute now that the sun had passed over the horizon.</p><p>All in all, it was... <em>nice</em>. Familiar. The castle had windows at heights that would make you dizzy if you leaned out and looked straight down, but they didn't really compare to the feeling of seeing a view like this with open air all around you. The sight itself wasn't new to her—but looking at the expanse of the kingdom had never quite felt like this before.</p><p>"Bet you could get used to a view like this, huh?" Cass asked idly, glancing back at him out of the corner of her eye.</p><p>When she glanced at him over her shoulder—well, kind of; with Ruddiger there you had to turn more fully to see behind you—Varian was blinking at her, looking caught off guard.</p><p>"Y—uh—" he started, looking lost for a moment as he jerked his gaze from her to the twilit mountains and villages of the kingdom. He seemed to realize what she meant, then, and his shoulders relaxed a bit as he nodded quickly. "—Yeah! Yeah; yeah." He chuckled, expression sheepish, and he glanced up at the burner and into the inside of the balloon. "Air travel is <em>extremely</em> fascinating. Both the science behind it and the fact that at any given point, you are potentially standing in a position that no one else in <em>history</em> has ever stood in, seeing a view that no one else has ever seen."</p><p>Out of idle curiosity, Cass let go of the edge of the basket and stepped up beside Varian, glancing up into the balloon as well—though the movement with weight on her shoulders made her flinch. Ruddiger seemed to decide that it'd be best to stand somewhere he wasn't at risk of hurting anyone, seeing how he jumped down and hopped up to perch on the edge of the basket, holding onto one of the ropes for support. Varian watched the raccoon in amusement for a moment, before shaking his head and reaching up with both hands to fiddle with the strangely elaborate controls on the burner.</p><p>"So," Cass began in a too-conversational tone, leaning towards him a bit and smirking up at him with a teasing look. "You think my hair's pretty?"</p><p>Varian's head jerked up as he stiffened, staring at her in surprise out of the corner of his eye.</p><p>"<em>Uh</em>—I—" he tried to begin, though it sounded like the words caught in his throat. The flame of the balloon flared, and with a <em>whoosh</em> of hot air, the balloon suddenly tried to rise upward, straining at its ropes. Varian whirled his head back around and hurried to fix the situation, though his movements were a bit jerky.</p><p>"<em>Do not</em> distract the pilot, please," he retorted in a mildly unimpressed announcer voice when he noticed her amused look.</p><p>"Don't get <em>distracted</em>," Cass countered, raising an eyebrow playfully.</p><p>"Don't..." Varian started to reply, and instead of finishing the sentence, he waved a hand vaguely but emphatically in her direction, not really looking over his shoulder.</p><p>"Don't...?" she teased, both eyebrows raised now as she waited expectantly for him to continue.</p><p><em>Enough, be nice</em>, her thoughts chided her, and a little bit of guilt crept in at the thought. She was here to be a friend, not to embarrass him or pester him into admitting anything.</p><p>Not that he probably had anything to admit. She had done horrible things to him.</p><p>She looked away, hoping it wasn't evident that she was trying to quash the guilt that was creeping up inside her again. "Kidding. How's our course look, Captain?"</p><p>It seemed to take Varian a moment to realize that she was looking in amusement at Ruddiger, who was now perched heroically on the edge of the basket, one hand shielding his eyes from the nonexistent glare of the sun. Ruddiger shook his tail proudly and pointed off into the distance, chittering some long-winded response that Cass could only assume was him listing off their sailing conditions in rapid-fire nautical slang.</p><p>"You heard him," she agreed with a chuckle, something in her not seeing the harm in joining in. "Steady at the reel! Watch the rail! Thar she blows!"</p><p>The words felt far too silly leaving her mouth, but excited gleam in the raccoon's eyes when he looked at her in surprise was worth it. Ruddiger stomped a hind foot in agreement, straightening his back with renewed vigor as he pointed to several other imaginary sights and obstacles, chittering all the while.</p><p>Varian gave her a look and chuckled, sounding somewhere between exasperated and amused.</p><p>"Well, now you've done it. I'm gonna have to deal with Captain Ruddiger for a week." He secured some part of the gas burner, his mock-disapproval turning into a grin. The raccoon turned and stuck out its tongue at him, but Varian just smirked and stuck out his tongue back before turning back to adjust the controls a bit. She had to wonder if they really needed adjusting or if he was just trying to keep himself occupied. <em>Something</em> about the burners had to be automatic—all of the ones she could see other than Rapunzel's were unmanned, and still floated alongside the others with a steady, dim light.</p><p>"Where's Owl?" Varian asked, probably to change the subject, shooting her a curious glance over his shoulder. Cass blinked, jerking her gaze up from where it'd drifted to Ruddiger again.</p><p>"Oh, he's..." That was a good question, actually. Owl was usually elsewhere when the lanterns went up—hunting in the woods or lurking in town, keeping an eye out with Max for the usual petty crimes that occurred while the entire kingdom was gathered here staring at the sky. "...Around somewhere. The lanterns are kind of hard on his eyes. He might come by later."</p><p>Owl had gotten better about it over the years, but there were still always times he stayed perched on her shoulder in the shadows when she hung back somewhere to watch, squinting and ducking his head and finally turning to burrow his face in her hair against her ear when the thousands of lights became too much for his sensitive night vision. The chattering of the whole kingdom was always a little much for a bird who was built to hear mice rustling in the dark, too.</p><p>Varian paused a moment, pursing his lips with furrowed eyebrows as he took this information in.</p><p>"Well, uh, if—he's okay with it, I'm sure I could make him some kind of tinted goggles or something to watch through. I've made welding masks before. It's a shame not to enjoy the show."</p><p>The mental image of a less-than-enthused Owl wearing any kind of goggles or mask made a smile tug at her lips. When she turned to glance out at the darkening shadows of the courtyard again, it was with a small chuckle.</p><p>"I'll have to ask." Even if Owl did agree to it—and she had the feeling he might, however begrudgingly—there was no telling if they'd be back in Corona in exactly a year. "I don't know how long we'll be away after this, though."</p><p>The way Varian looked at her made her wonder if he'd thought she might stay despite what she'd told him.</p><p>"I would hope it's not too long. It gets boring around here without you."</p><p>Cass rolled her eyes upward as she turned back to the edge of the basket to see the view, though it wasn't without a thin smile of disbelief. "Oh, I <em>highly</em> doubt it's <em>ever</em> boring around here."</p><p>"<em>Really</em>," he chuckled. "You sure about that?"</p><p>Once upon a time, she might've accepted the invitation to challenge someone on that, just on principle. Now? She just smiled slightly and looked away, because the little voice in her head that prodded at her to debate was, for once, plenty quiet enough to ignore.</p><p>"Maybe," she replied quietly, looking out at the darkening island.</p><p>There was something serene about it—about simply floating above the edge of the castle courtyard, lit by the light of an oil flame, drifting in slow motion against the wind and looking out over an endless crowd whose chatter was faint and far away.</p><p>Cassandra rested on her elbows on the edge of the basket, letting her hands drape down and her shoulders relax.</p><p>Hesitantly—like, with <em>palpable</em> hesitance that made her want to roll her eyes and inform him that it was fine—Varian stepped over beside her, though not very close, and gave the grand view of the kingdom only a glance before looking back to her.</p><p>"You're... different," he noted quietly, and when she looked over at him, his eyes had lost whatever nervousness they'd held around her before. He just looked curious, now, like he'd made observations and was hoping she would shed some light on them.</p><p>Even after everything, there was still a part of her that was <em>not</em> one for introspective talk. Cassandra shot him a playful sideways look, aimed pointedly upwards at him.</p><p>"I'm not the one who grew a foot," she countered with a thin smile. She might've changed, but most of her differences weren't quite <em>that</em> obvious.</p><p>To her surprise, Varian thought about this for a second and then started snickering to himself.</p><p>"What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in uncertainty.</p><p>He briefly put a hand over his mouth to hide a grin, then shook his head and tried to school his expression into something less entertained.</p><p>"No, it's—I'm not gonna say it. I've been hanging around my dad too much. Bad joke." It must have been her time spent in Ingvarr talking, where it had been fun to amuse the younger soldiers and bemuse the older ones with the occasional offhanded joke, but <em>now</em> she was curious. Unfortunately. Varian just puffed out his chest a little and stood tall, however, looking quite proud of himself. "For your information, since you left, I grew seven and a half inches, I <em>think</em>."</p><p>The smile filtered out of his expression, and he was looking at her like <em>that</em> again, eyebrows furrowed like he'd found a problem he wanted to figure out.</p><p>"But you're different, too."</p><p>Cass chuckled dryly in assent, looking out at the darkened island again. "I need a haircut."</p><p>(She knew what he meant, of course, and some part of her despised sounding oblivious on purpose—but convincing her brain to do something other than talk her way out of discussing <em>growth</em> and <em>feelings</em> was another issue entirely.)</p><p>(And she had meant to get her hair cut before she got here, just to avoid the everyone-staring-at-you-longer-they-might-have-otherwise phenomenon. It was somewhat pointless to do it now and trigger that all over again. Maybe next time.)</p><p>When she spared a glance at Varian again, he still had his eyebrows furrowed, but he shook his head. "No, it—looks nice. I more meant... you seem happier?"</p><p>His eyes were... curious, and yet almost uncertain.</p><p>"Did you find what you were looking for out there?" he asked quietly.</p><p>That... was sure what you'd expect, wasn't it? She <em>had</em> been traveling the world for two years. She'd gotten her share of jobs, had beaten up more than her share of criminals, and had pacified a dragon or two. She'd been on two continents and seen a third from a distance. Why did none of it feel like <em>this is it? This is what I want to be doing? This is how I want to spend the rest of my life?</em></p><p>She hated it, a little. Freedom came with the responsibility of your path resting on your <em>own</em> shoulders. Some part of her hadn't realized how used to it she'd gotten—to taking advice and battle plans and orders from castle staff and captains and little blue girls.</p><p>"...I found out that I'm apparently pretty good at having no idea what I want out of life, if that's what you mean," she muttered before she could channel the surge of bitterness <em>somewhere else, anywhere else;</em> like at herself instead of someone who didn't deserve it.</p><p>Of course it wasn't what he'd meant; she knew that and didn't need to say otherwise. But he didn't object to the jab, or even look like he really minded. He just watched her, eyes still curious but patient, as she took a breath and tried to alter her answer.</p><p>"...Basically, I... don't know?" she tried to amend. "I'm glad I've been out there. I definitely needed that. I think I still need it. But there's things I miss about here, too."</p><p>There <em>were</em> things she'd missed, even if she couldn't and wouldn't go back to them. She found her gaze dropping subconsciously to her sleeve, even though Rapunzel had insisted on helping her find a less travel-worn outfit to wear today and her lady-in-waiting headpiece wasn't on this new green tunic. "It's... nice to have pieces of me with me on the road."</p><p>Varian straightened up beside her at that, and she regarded him curiously.</p><p>"Oh! That reminds me," he started, turning a bit to dig in the leather tool pouch that was fastened to his belt. He pulled out her coin pouch, offering it to her with a sheepish expression.</p><p>"Sorry, I... should've given it to you before," he apologized, and Cass hoped he could tell that <em>it was fine; it hadn't been like she'd been needing it</em>. More curious than she would admit, she took the bag and emptied the contents into her palm—and sure enough, alongside the repaired necklace was a thin silver chain, like the kind she'd seen in silversmiths' shops or trade markets in Ingvarr and Bayangor. It shone dully in the dim light, and she had to admit it was a nice color match for the stone.</p><p>"I... know you said you didn't want anything different, but... in case you change your mind, you can pop out the Cassandrium and put it in the inset in this," Varian explained with a little huff of a chuckle. "It's, ah... it just looks a little nicer."</p><p>She let the thin chain droop through her fingers slightly as she cocked her head to look at it. It wasn't the painted purple and blue beads she'd come to not mind at all, but it <em>was</em> sleeker and more simplistic, and she could picture herself getting used to it.</p><p>"The chain isn't all the way metal, though—there's a link in the back made of a compound that will break if stressed," Varian explained, pointing to it for a moment before withdrawing to fold his arms behind his back. "That way it still has the safety feature, but it, uh... the clasp will still work if it breaks." He cracked an awkward grin. "Plus, it looks a little less like a twelve-year-old made it."</p><p>It had looked a <em>little</em> pieced-together, sure—but the bead colors were all corresponding and even, and even if the shapes themselves weren't always symmetrical, she honestly hadn't thought it'd looked half bad. It matched her style, she'd decided, back when she'd been looking for memorabilia to travel with.</p><p>"I liked it," she said with a shrug, letting her eyes twinkle with amusement as she affected an offhandedly fanciful voice. "Added to my air of <em>storied mystery</em>."</p><p>Varian snickered a little at her tone, and she had to look away as she cracked a smile.</p><p>"Do you ever tell people stories?" he asked, tilting his head as he regarded her curiously. She blinked and met his gaze again, uncertain, so he elaborated. "On your travels. You've done a lot of things."</p><p>Cass pursed her lips, shrugging slightly. "Sometimes? I mean... People ask. The only ones who want to listen are the ones who don't know anything about me, so... that works out."</p><p>She did get begged for stories during her travels through smaller or dustier towns, but that was usually by gaggles of wide-eyed children. They were easy to impress with the stories that didn't involve what she was most widely known for—(<em>CORONA FALLS TODAY!</em> her mind could still hear echoing back at her from crumbling courtyard walls)—stories of life in a sunny kingdom far away, of the shenanigans that occurred when you were friends with a thief and a kind-hearted princess who didn't wear shoes.</p><p>(She had expected telling stories here and there to schoolchildren would just be an inconvenient delay in her travels, but... it was hard to be listened to with rapt, excited attention and not find it a <em>little</em> nice.)</p><p>"Thanks," Cass said with a genuine smile. New chain still in hand—along with the fleeting thought of <em>did you make that yourself? A chain that thin could </em>not<em> be easy to make</em>—she fastened the necklace back on, pleased to find that he hadn't fixed the clasp. She'd had to hit it with a rock a few times to make it so there was no chance of it coming loose during any sudden scuffles or escapades. It took a little force to make it click, but she did so with practiced ease, and slipped the chain into the pouch and back onto her belt. "Sorry you've had such a rough week."</p><p>"Eh, well," Varian muttered with a shrug, though the ghost of a smile on his face indicated he appreciated the thought. "Just doin' my part."</p><p>Somehow, she got the feeling that <em>his part</em> involved a lot more effort than anyone but himself would think to assign to him—but she could understand the sentiment. She might not have been doing it now, but as a captain's daughter, she knew the work ethic that came from a desire to impress and good dash of personal debt looming over your head. (Her dad loved her as his own; she hadn't doubted that since she'd first learned it. That didn't rid her of the lingering vein of guilt she had for never being able to repay his kindness, however.)</p><p>"It looks good around here," she remarked with a glance up at the once-wrecked tower, because it really did—from up here and in the dim shadows of the evening, it was hard to tell that the castle had been brutally damaged at <em>any</em> point, let alone just a few years ago. Guilt crept in and threatened to engulf her insides again, and she dropped her gaze. The people of Corona had made it very clear they didn't want her anywhere near them while they fixed the destruction she'd caused—if her presence hadn't been such a public disturbance, maybe she would have stayed longer to work. To clean up the rubble, at the very least. She had owed them that much. Telling the King and Queen she was exiling herself for a few years was the best thing she could think of to do for a kingdom that still wouldn't walk down the same street as her.</p><p>She'd really had no right to turn it into an adventure as much as she had. If reward money for caught thieves or saved villages ever ended up in Corona—well, it wasn't like anyone could trace the source. "I'm... sorry you guys had to deal with that."</p><p>She kept her gaze down, in a probably futile attempt to not look like she was obviously not meeting his eyes. He was looking at her again, like he wanted to figure out what she was thinking. He probably could if he could see her eyes.</p><p>"It's okay, Cassandra," Varian said quietly.</p><p><em>Something. Say something nice</em>, her thoughts nagged at her, and as much as she had never been one for being jerked around by her conscience, it was the absolute least she could do.</p><p>"What, no Cassie?" she asked with a tiny smile, glancing sideways at him.</p><p>He looked away slightly, and for the first time she could remember seeing, his smile was thin and didn't reach his eyes.</p><p>"...I think I lost my privilege to call you that," he admitted quietly, bringing his gaze up only briefly to glance across the kingdom toward the shadowy pinpricks of lantern light that was all that could be seen of Old Corona.</p><p>Four years ago exactly, she'd been... spending the day much differently.</p><p><em>I always knew I could sweep you off your FEET</em>... a voice growled in her mind, in a metallic tone that sounded like him but <em>far</em> worse. She forcefully shoved the thought away, because no matter how much dread she'd once felt, they had <em>both</em> done terrible things they regretted, and <em>that was far in the past</em>—but she could still feel a ghost of metal clamped around her ribcage, constricting <em>hard</em>.</p><p>She must've flinched, because Varian drew back from her as if he'd been stung.</p><p>"I'm—so sorry," he whispered, eyes wide in the dim light.</p><p><em>I know. So am I</em>, she felt, and should've said. But she fell back on instinct when it came to serious things that had emotions attached, and her instincts always prevented <em>sorry</em> from ever coming out right.</p><p>"Just forget it," she muttered, though there was no bite to it. There couldn't be. She'd lost the right to be angry at anyone for things like that. "It's fine, now."</p><p>Varian looked down at the massive crowd, now visible in the darkness only as a giant ocean of orange lanterns. Dozens of gleams from the lights reflected in his eyes as he gazed downward.</p><p>"I don't think I... <em>can</em> forget," he said quietly.</p><p>In truth, she didn't think she could either, but she didn't have to dwell on it. She wouldn't. She'd done far worse than <em>just</em> trying to hurt someone out of anger, anyhow.</p><p>"Hey. I knocked you out, gave you truth serum, and stuck you in a cage three hundred feet in the air. I <em>think</em> we're even."</p><p>Varian chuckled dryly, eyes still downcast.</p><p>"Maybe," he replied with a hint of a smile, though judging by how it didn't quite reach his eyes, he didn't quite believe it.</p><p>Cass bit her tongue to keep herself from debating that, looking away. He may have <em>felt</em> worse about all he'd done—but she had <em>done</em> worse. It was all backwards.</p><p>Down below, she caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye of Frederic and Arianna, coming out to where their special lantern was lit on a pedestal, waiting to be sent up to begin the ceremony.</p><p><em>This is not your day to ruin</em>, she chided herself. This was a day of celebration, wasn't it? Did she have to go and drag her baggage into everything?</p><p>"...Sorry. Forget I said anything." She put a hand around the stone on her necklace, pursing her lips into an apologetic smile. "Thanks, for this."</p><p>"Yeah, it's... no problem," Varian replied quietly with a little smile. He glanced down to the center of the terrace, where Frederic and Arianna were lifting their lantern into the air together. It drifted up, buffeted a bit by the breeze—and one by one, the orange gleams of other lanterns began to follow, floating up in increasing numbers from the crowd below. His gaze flickered back over to her. "...It's the kind of thing friends do, right?"</p><p><em>Right</em>... her mind answered, just out of old habit. It was mildly embarrassing to look back on, how touched she'd once been at how someone could deal with her frustration and complaining all day and still look hopeful about calling her that. <em>Friends</em>.</p><p>Now, though, that hope was still there—but it was set in something different than blind eagerness. It reminded her of the look on the King and Queen that she found odd when she was younger. It was a bit like the look on her father's face after the battle with Zhan Tiri.</p><p>It was the look of someone who'd been through a lot, she supposed—a lot of pain and stress and hard decisions, even if those were far in the past. She saw that look on Rapunzel and Eugene when they were lost in thought for a moment and forgot that others were watching. It was a look she saw in the mirror some days. It was something she saw on <em>him</em>, now, even as he gave a small smile and looked back out into the thousands of orange lights that now lit up the darkness.</p><p>There was something that felt notably... <em>different</em>, about him. Almost weirdly so. Maybe it was the lighting; the way it cast long shadows up his jaw—or maybe it was the way his eyebrows tended to furrow in the middle, and how his eyes were so often serious when he wasn't speaking to anyone. Whatever it was, it made it incredibly hard to reconcile the person beside her with the over-eager kid she'd thought she'd known before.</p><p>The longer he stayed silent, eyes still out on the sea of lights, the harder it was to shake the increasingly uncomfortable sensation that she was only pretending to be friends with someone she barely knew.</p><p>And he'd said <em>she'd</em> felt different. Was that how she seemed to him? A friendly stranger?</p><p>"You didn't get a lantern?" Varian asked, breaking her out of her thoughts. His curious gaze flickered from her to the floor of the basket behind them, where Ruddiger had apparently discovered some emergency rations in a small tool bag and had made short work of them. The raccoon was now curled up lazily on the bag as he rifled through the pockets for anything he might've missed the first time, clearly deeming this endeavor more important than watching the lanterns start to go up.</p><p>She'd considered it, but in the end hadn't felt great about the idea. The thought of just sending off happy well-wishes like nothing was wrong after everything she'd done didn't sit well with her.</p><p>Cass shook her head. "Nah. I already told Raps happy birthday. Figured I'd just watch."</p><p>"Oh—well, you should have a <em>lantern</em>." Varian quickly turned around and bent to move Ruddiger aside, retrieving a folded lantern from the bag. He unfolded it and popped the wire frame into place in one quick motion, pulling a match from his vest pocket and lighting it and then the lantern from the flame of the burner. "Here."</p><p>It was hard not to accidentally take things from people when they shoved something at you with a <em>trust me</em> look in their eyes. Cass was holding the lantern before she had time to object, instinctively pinching her fingers around the bottom rim to keep it from floating out of her hands.</p><p>She had gone the last four years without anything to send up during the ceremony—and even though there was something to be said for happy memories of sending them off with her dad, she also knew for a fact that for her, some things were neither needed nor deserved.</p><p>"No, seriously," Cass said with an awkward chuckle, offering it back to him. "I'm fine. But thanks."</p><p>"Nope!" Varian replied easily, turning away from her a bit and brushing off his hands as if to make a show of not taking it back. "I insist." He smirked, though his eyes <em>were</em> pretty gently insistent, and just shrugged, almost slyly. "Seriously, I'll just steal the next one that floats up next to me."</p><p>Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "Still got a little bit of a bad guy in there, huh?"</p><p>"Me? Having enjoyed some aspects of that slightly?" he asked in a mock-surprised tone, pausing in playful offense for a moment before cracking a wry grin. "<em>Never</em>. Here, watch this."</p><p>Varian glanced around them at the basket, ropes, and oil flame, as if to make sure everything was stable—then, he braced one hand on the edge of the basket, leaning carefully over the edge to reach for a lantern that had floated up <em>almost</em> within arms' reach.</p><p>It was an amusing sight—seeing him try to lean so far out of the basket with a hand outstretched toward a sea of orange lanterns. Even as she shifted to put more weight at the other side of the basket just in case anything started to tip, a little smile crossed her face.</p><p>He had just <em>barely</em> grabbed the base of the lantern with his fingertips and was easing it closer when a voice shouted up from below.</p><p>"Hey, Varian! I see you up there! That's my lantern!" Stan's voice called up in dismay.</p><p>Varian flinched awkwardly. "Sorry," he called back, giving the lantern a gentle push out into the air.</p><p>As subtly as he could, he edged around and reached out to another lantern that had drifted nearer to them, snagging it with one finger and bringing it in closer.</p><p>"That's <em>my</em> lantern!" Pete interrupted from below, sounding offended. Varian's mouth pursed into an incredibly frustrated expression for a split second—probably at his own failed attempts at this, Cass could guess—but he let out a little grumble of a sigh and nudged the lantern back into the air, withdrawing his arm.</p><p>"Stop paying such close attention to your lanterns; look around you," Varian muttered under his breath. Cass barely stifled a snicker. He seemed to give up on snatching a lantern after that, keeping his elbows on the edge of the basket as he slumped his chin into one hand with a mildly annoyed air.</p><p>Well, they had <em>one</em> lantern, at least.</p><p>"You tried," Cass assured him with a little grin, and he tossed an unimpressed look her way before burying his face into his hand and grinning as well.</p><p>She looked down at the lantern in her hands, studying the peculiar symbols that had been meticulously stenciled onto the paper. Or hand-painted, more likely—she doubted anyone made stencils in such obscure designs.</p><p>"What're the symbols?" she asked, idly curious. That seemed to perk Varian up out of his playful slump, and he straightened up, stepping over beside her to look at the lantern.</p><p>"Oh! Those are alchemy runes," he explained, and when she glanced at him with a raised brow, his eyes were lit up nearly gold in the lantern light. He cracked an awkward grin and shrugged, briefly rubbing the back of his neck as he continued. "I don't... always use them, since there's more mysticism than I like attached to them, but they're a pretty common shorthand."</p><p>He pointed to each one in offhanded succession, as if their meanings came as naturally to him as reading the alphabet.</p><p>"These all represent different things that correlate with my life. There's this, which means the sun, this is the moon, that indicates the black rocks, those are elements that represent a king and queen, this one is—uh, the Cassandrium—"</p><p>Eyebrow still raised, Cass couldn't help but let her gaze flicker from the strange, swirling rune to her necklace and back again.</p><p>"I <em>feel</em> like you made that one up."</p><p>"Well, all of these are <em>made up</em>, they just caught on," Varian retorted. "Ruddiger had me make one for apples. It's this one here." He pointed to a circular one with several half-dots in the center, one that Cass supposed looked slightly like a sliced-open apple she'd halved with her sword. "It comes up surprisingly often when your main source of acetic acid is apple cider vinegar."</p><p>It was almost amusing, the way his whole face lit up when he got the chance to talk about alchemy. He had the beginnings of a lopsided grin on his face, front teeth shining a bit in the dim firelight. Cass smiled slightly almost before she was aware of it, and it didn't take long for Varian to notice.</p><p>"...What?" he asked quietly, eyes flickering back and forth like he thought he'd missed something.</p><p>She couldn't help a little smirk as she shook her head and turned back to look out at the rising lanterns.</p><p>"I was wondering if you'd still have your buck teeth," she teased, shooting him a friendly glance. To her amusement, he immediately pursed his lips together to hide his front teeth, giving her a mildly exasperated look.</p><p>"Yeah, they... haven't gone anywhere," he replied dryly, clearly trying to keep his mouth mostly closed as he glanced away, though the corners were trying to twitch upward.</p><p>Cass rolled her eyes briefly in amusement. "I'm kidding. It's cute. I just knew Rapunzel mostly grew out of hers, was all."</p><p>Varian stared at her with an odd look for a moment, looking like he was trying to register more than one of the things she'd said. "...Rapunzel had it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in uncertainty.</p><p>She shrugged, glancing over toward the balloon that held Rapunzel and Eugene. She could see them smiling and chatting in the light of their burner, both still holding their lanterns and looking that goofy brand of excited that seemed to come with being the world's most unnecessarily romantic couple. "Yeah, I guess it was just a little bit of an overbite. Mostly something from when she first got here. She'd smile like you did all the time and show off her teeth."</p><p>It was hard not to feel a sense of fondness at the memory. These days, Rapunzel seemed to have taken on the role of an older sister to Varian (along with everyone else younger than her, if Eugene's speech was anything to go by), and on the few occasions she'd seen the pair get excited about something together, their matching bright-eyed grins did make them look a bit like siblings.</p><p>"It's kinda still there, but she... owns it, now, I guess?" Cass tried with a shrug. "Kinda like you do. You don't notice hers as much."</p><p>"But you notice mine," Varian noted dryly, though his eyes shone a little in amusement.</p><p>"It's part of <em>you</em>, Varian." Cass cast him a friendly sideways glance and a little smile. "Don't let me or anyone else tease you for it, okay?"</p><p>He glanced down in acknowledgement, with a smile that was somewhere between embarrassed and touched.</p><p>"Hey, I..." he began, and maybe it was because he didn't seem to fully know what the rest of the sentence would be—but he trailed off for a moment, and that was when a new sound interrupted him.</p><p>It was hard to hear it, at first—the breeze was filtering around the castle and blowing out toward the kingdom, taking softer sounds with it—but Cass fell still and strained to catch the familiar sound. The wind shifted just slightly, and Rapunzel and Eugene's singing became as clear as day.</p><p>"<em>Now at last, I see the light</em>..."</p><p>The chorus was as strong and bright as it had been when she'd heard them reprise it years ago. Their voices blended together like they'd harmonized all their lives, and even Cass stopped and blinked as she listened.</p><p>Varian seemed to lose sight of what he'd been going to say, and he stared over his shoulder toward the balloon that held the royal couple. "...Huh," he said quietly, falling quiet as he tilted his head just a bit.</p><p>"...<em>And it's like the fog has lifted</em>..." Eugene sang next, his voice carrying across the courtyard. The excited chatter of the crowd below hushed a bit, mostly near the royal couple's balloon.</p><p>Perhaps it wasn't the best thing to do when you were still hovering on your friends' good sides, but some part of Cass felt that it <em>might</em> not be taken as an offense if she relaxed her manners just a little. She smirked, though it was warmly, leaning out of the basket just a little toward them.</p><p>"You guys sing for the ceremony now?" she called over to them, her voice low enough that she hoped not too many people below would notice.</p><p>Eugene didn't look at her to acknowledge her remark, and Cass assumed he hadn't heard her. He smirked, however, closing his eyes dramatically, and his voice became deeper and more operatic than before.</p><p>"<em>Now, Cassandra stopped interrupting the song</em>..." he sang to the same tune, a bit more quietly, casting the words subtly in her direction. Cass blinked in surprise, then raised her hands in a show of backing off with a soft snort.</p><p>(Somewhere inside her, her pride flinched a bit, because he didn't <em>have</em> to call her out when so many people could hear. She pushed the sensation back down and stifled it the best she could.)</p><p>Rapunzel seemed to giggle at the impromptu change in lyrics, though she was clearly trying to school her features back into something more focused as she sang the next verse.</p><p>"...<em>And it's like the sky is new.</em>.."</p><p>"I haven't heard this one before," Varian remarked softly beside her. Cass blinked and glanced sideways at him.</p><p>"Really? They sang it all the time when they first got here." Sang, or hummed, or even used as an inside joke to the point it got old. She still remembered Eugene belting out a few verses when he'd finally found a lantern he'd been told to grab.</p><p>"<em>And it's warm and real and bright</em>..."</p><p>Cass, out of idleness more than anything else, sang along to that verse very softly under her breath—not matching the lyrics, but "<em>and real-ly sappy</em>" seemed more accurate.</p><p>Varian snorted softly, a hint of a smile appearing in his eyes, though his focus didn't really shift from watching as they sang.</p><p>She couldn't blame him, really. Despite having been, well, <em>herself</em>—irritated and upset below the surface, and as curt as one could politely be to clueless royalty and an egotistical thief who she'd been <em>sure</em> had just weaseled his way into living the high life instead of sitting on death row—when she'd first seen those two look into each other's eyes like that and <em>sing</em>, it had been hard to look away.</p><p>"<em>And the world has somehow shifted</em>..."</p><p>It was... nice, all of this. Relaxing, for once, somewhere she could enjoy a local celebration without constantly having to watch her back and keep to the shadows. Where she could spend time around a few people, at least, who considered her a friend. Who <em>wanted</em> her here. It... wasn't a bad feeling.</p><p><em>It's not anything you deserve, either</em>, her head was quick to remind her, and she really couldn't argue with the sense of solemnity that snuck in at that.</p><p>"<em>All at once, everything is different</em>..." they sang, voices softening, and only then did Cass notice the violins (<em>or maybe viols and violoncellos; she didn't have the best ear for music</em>) playing softly in accompaniment from the courtyard below.</p><p>"...<em>Now that I see you</em>."</p><p>She wasn't going to look sideways, because he'd probably notice and that could be very easily misconstrued. She'd clearly forgotten what a schmaltzy atmosphere resulted from riding in a hot air balloon at night.</p><p>(She hadn't <em>forgotten;</em> that was another thing she probably couldn't forget. This had just seemed plenty different enough—being in town with thousands of people and in a balloon that was tethered to a railing.)</p><p>(But—no, that was a stupid train of thought anyway. It was <em>Varian</em>. Sheesh. Things weren't <em>that</em> different between them.)</p><p>Nonetheless, it still felt like it was a moment that called for releasing the lantern. She made a slight motion to offer it back to Varian one last time, but he just blinked, shaking his head quickly with a little smile and making no move to take it.</p><p>It had been a <em>long</em> time since she'd last done it, but there was always a funny feeling of excitement when partaking in a big festival like this, in Corona or elsewhere. With just a bit of it buzzing in her chest, Cass lifted the lantern aloft, giving it a gentle push upward and away from their balloon. The little candle inside it gleamed a soft gold, illuminating the wax designs on the paper in a warm amber glow.</p><p>It drifted upward, slowly joining the massive, glowing cloud of lights that were rising into the darkening purple sky. She had never been the type to be impressed easily, particularly by something she'd grown up seeing—but when so many golden lanterns floated in a shape like a huge school of fish, moving in a way that nothing else she'd seen on earth moved? It was hard not to entertain the fleeting thought of watching it until it disappeared the next morning into the dawn.</p><p>Their balloon swayed softly in the light breeze, pushed by the wind in a way that made Cass wonder what would happen if the tethers were cut. Would this huge lantern join the others, floating against the dark purple sky in the midst of thousands of lights? Would it go the same places, not touching down until it snagged the branches of trees in a trail across Equis or onto Terapi Island? She'd found remnants of a lantern or two as far as Koto, and one almost at the Dark Kingdom. How far <em>could</em> the wind take them?</p><p>It was a silly thought. It wasn't hard to imagine, though—letting the breeze take her more places she'd never been, at heights no one had ever seen.</p><p>(Although maybe not <em>too</em> high. She did like to have some control over her circumstances, or at least how far down she'd have to fall, if push came to shove.)</p><p>Willow had been right about one thing, though—the view wasn't bad from the air.</p><p>"You met Aunt Willow out there?" Varian asked curiously, and for a fraction of a second, Cass had horrible flashes of <em>she didn't think things aloud to Fidella THAT much, did she?</em> and mental pictures of becoming the next Edmund, a thought which almost made her gag. However, deflection was a skill she had pretty much mastered after working with a nosy princess for as long as she had, and she had always thought it a waste not to put skills to good use.</p><p>"<em>Aunt</em> Willow?" she repeated, internally  a bit more grateful for the out than she probably should've been.</p><p>Varian grinned, a bit sheepishly. "Heh. Yeah, she, uh—I think she tells all of Rapunzel's friends to call her that. So now there's Aunt Willow and Uncle Monty. They formed this big rivalry over who was the best family member to everyone."</p><p>"That's ridiculous," Cass replied with a chuckle, because <em>that</em> was an entertaining mental image.</p><p>"I know!" Varian agreed with a disbelieving grin. To his question beforehand, Cass shrugged, glancing back out toward the other balloons with a little smile at the memory.</p><p>"Yeah, she and I went—what'd she call it—sail gliding?" she tried, and that must've been one right name for it, because Varian brightened up as if reminded of something else.</p><p>"You know, a flying machine <em>has</em> been on my list of things to look into. There's still a huge potential for improvement with balloons, especially leaning toward the airship end of things, but Rapunzel was wondering if there'd be a way to mimic the design of a bird."</p><p>"Hm," was all she said, because after you had been a bird once, it was hard to say you didn't occasionally imagine recapturing that feeling.</p><p>They watched at the lights again for a minute, gears clearly turning in Varian's head as he mumbled a few things under his breath about how a flying machine might work, and Cass content to observe the slopes of the dark island and watch as even more lanterns drifted up. After a moment, it was easy to tell that Varian had joined her, falling silent as he tilted his head up a bit to see the just how high the cloud of lights had gone at the edges.</p><p>"You know the one thing that would make this better?" he suggested suddenly, and Cass glanced sideways at him in curiosity. "<em>Fireworks</em>." He made some enthusiastic little firework motions with his hands, and Cass had to smile. "I bet this height would make for an awesome launch position."</p><p>"You can't shoot off fireworks from a hot air balloon," Cass replied, casting him a look of amusement. She had half a mind to tease him for acting like <em>Kiera</em> had been the irresponsible one earlier, but Varian merely returned the look and raised his eyebrows, folding his arms.</p><p>"Can't, or probably shouldn't?"</p><p>...Reluctantly, she had to concede up to that argument.</p><p>"...Probably shouldn't," she amended, raising an eyebrow at him in return. Varian grinned a little and put a hand on his chest.</p><p>"Well, lucky for you, I have become <em>quite</em> adept at not doing things I probably shouldn't do." He dropped the pose and shrugged, pursing his lips in a sort of resigned seriousness as he looked out at the sky full of lanterns. "Fireworks are way too dangerous with all this paper in the sky."</p><p>That... was true, to the point of probably being too stressful a thought to be worth imagining right now. Varian seemed to share similar thoughts, judging by how a flicker of a sheepish smile crossed his face and he steered the subject in another direction.</p><p>"I wanted to do one of the alchemically-powered lanterns I usually send up smaller fireworks in, but it'd kind of ruin the look of all the orange lanterns going up. I didn't realize there's actually regulations for what you can send off today." He made a face—a hesitant, curious one more than anything. "It's pretty strict. '<em>All lanterns are sent up in honor of the lost princess. Any act of disrespect will result in whatever penalty deemed suitable by law</em>.' I don't think anybody's updated it since—y'know."</p><p>It <em>did</em> look nicer this way, she thought—with thousands of matching lanterns still drifting up into the sky from below. She'd stopped trying to count them when she was eleven, but there had to be a lantern for nearly every person in Corona, subjects and visitors alike.</p><p>It was a companionable silence that fell between them after that. More so than Cass would've expected—maybe she was tired, but it was almost nice to let her nerves relax in a place she knew.</p><p>"You up for a little bit of a light show before we take 'em down?" Varian asked after a few minutes, glancing over to her with eyebrows raised.</p><p>"...What do you mean?" Cass asked, glancing at him hesitantly. He wasn't going to try something with fireworks after all, was he? He'd been right earlier—that couldn't possibly end well.</p><p>Varian just grinned, eyes bright again with that look he got when he was able to share something he found inherently exciting with someone.</p><p>"I <em>should</em> be able to flare the balloons to light them all up," he explained, nodding upward and toward the row of other balloons. "We tried to rig up all the cables earlier—see these?" He lightly put a hand on one of several cords that were looped loosely through one of the framework pieces of their balloon. Each pair had a little scrap of fabric stitched on, with a number written in ink.</p><p>Varian leaned out and looked at the line of balloons for a moment, eyebrows furrowed.</p><p>"Let's see, if nobody messed these <em>up</em>..." he began, shooting quick glances between the cords in his hands and the row of balloons alongside them. The sky had darkened to a very deep purple, now, and a few stars were faintly visible. The lanterns had all gone up and were beginning to stretch into the distance, and most of the subjects, with families or work early in the morning, would be filtering back to their homes now.</p><p>Varian bit his lip slightly in concentration and pulled the first set of cords, eyes fixed on the furthest balloon in the line. There were shouts of surprise from the gradually-dispersing crowd—and Cass barely looked over in time to see the glimmer of fire flare up <em>tremendously</em>, almost halfway up the balloon, lighting up the silk around the Corona sun emblem with a gold blaze against the sky.</p><p>Just as quickly, he released the cord, and the flame dimmed to almost nothing. It looked—well, <em>dangerous</em>, but at the same time contained, and her eyebrows went up as a sense of intrigue went through her. Varian glanced over at her and grinned a little before pulling the next cord, one that caused the second furthest balloon in line to flare up with blinding light and a <em>whoosh</em> of flames. The noise of the crowd turned to shouts, and then whispers of hesitant observation—until that balloon dimmed and the next one flared.</p><p>"The flare effect is actually caused by the opening of a <em>second</em> receptacle built into the burner; one that has a measured amount of refined fuel in it," Varian explained, in a slightly loud voice so as to be heard over the chatter of the crowd below. The way his entire posture and expression and voice always seemed to grow so <em>animated</em> when showing people these things was almost contagious, and Cass listened with a slight smile playing at her face. "That way the increase in heat doesn't last long enough to affect the balloon beyond a brief surge of air."</p><p>The hiss of the gas flames was methodical and grew louder as they grew closer, and in between triggering the mechanisms, Varian reached up to slip off his goggles, handing them to her. She took them hesitantly, but didn't put them on, halfway contemplating giving them back. If anyone needed the protection here, wouldn't it be him?</p><p><em>FWOOM!</em> Rapunzel's little shriek of laughter and resulting cheer came from the center balloon as it lit up. The flame almost went out, and only then did Cass notice that Varian hadn't seemed to have done that one—Eugene was giving them a victorious thumbs up from where he stood with one hand on the control rope of his balloon.</p><p>"Ready?" Varian whispered, glancing her way as he pulled the cord for the balloon next to them and let it go. "It's gonna be loud."</p><p>She barely had time to lock eyes with him and nod hesitantly—<em>was she ready? She didn't know; he should know better than she did</em>—before he looked upward into the silk sac of the balloon, pulling the only cord in the set that ran upwards instead of downwards.</p><p>The metal contraption that worked as the burner hissed suddenly as though its valves had been opened to full blast, and with a noise like a windstorm, the flames shot upward and flared out above their heads. The noise and sudden spike in heat and light was almost blinding, and Cass took a short step backward with arms raised to grab hold of the edge of the basket.</p><p>Varian squinted up at the flame for the few seconds it towered and roared, his face lit up bright and his hair whipped back from the burst of hot air. The release flap at the top must've been open too, she surmised—the balloon barely rose upwards despite the surge of fire. Her hair whipped back under the blast of heat, and she squinted, wondering if she should put Varian's goggles on—it was a little silly for <em>neither</em> of them to be wearing them—but when she spared a quick glance sideways at him, he was grinning like it was more exciting without them, shielding his eyes with one hand and keeping the other steady on the rope.</p><p>And just like that, he released the cord and the light went out. Or nearly—just a flicker of the flame remained. Varian reached up and pulled a different rope to close the release flap most of the way, keeping some of the hot air contained before it dissipated into the night.</p><p>In the courtyard below, those left in the still-thick crowd erupted into cheers and scattered applause. An old sense of <em>something</em> rose in Cass' chest at the sound—something almost warm, that was by no means unpleasant. It was a little silly, and selfish, and probably too attached to the part of her she'd been trying to leave behind—but there was a part of her that'd never minded the idea of being at the forefront of applause.</p><p>(But at the same time, it felt... <em>different</em> than it used to, and it took her a moment to pinpoint what it was. This warmth felt more like pride—not the kind that had driven her into so many selfish decisions, but the kind that felt genuinely glad for <em>someone else</em>, to know that they'd struggled and worked to prove themselves and were at last getting the kind of praise they'd earned.)</p><p>For his part, Varian barely seemed to notice the applause. He let out a very breathless laugh, shoulders shaking a bit as the tension left them when he exhaled. Had he been worried? He'd looked the picture of cautious optimism just a moment ago.</p><p>"I am <em>so</em> glad that worked," Varian said under his breath with a chuckle. He grinned faintly and glanced her way with curious eyes, as if to see what she thought of it.</p><p>Cass smirked slightly, the feeling of the fire's sudden heat still prickling at her face. Honestly? She'd always enjoyed things that involved sudden bursts of fire and forces of the elements. She'd always been the picture of a proper young lady that way.</p><p>"Me too," she replied in a matter-of-fact tone, looking sideways at him with a raised eyebrow and a playful gleam probably in her eye. "Much cooler than blowing up all the lanterns with fireworks."</p><p>Varian snickered, glancing briefly upward and away from her in embarrassment, and Cass found herself smiling at the sound.</p><p>In the shadows by their feet, there was a low grumble. Varian blinked a few times, then looked down at the lump in the shadows with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>"Oh, <em>I'm</em> sorry, did we wake you up?" he asked, in such a politely sarcastic tone that Cass almost smirked. Ruddiger made another grumbling noise, and Varian scooped him up and set him on his shoulders, grinning and still out of breath.</p><p>"Hey, have—have you ever brought a balloon down before?" he glanced at her to ask, eyebrows raised curiously. His eyes were still gleaming with leftover excitement from the light show he'd just done.</p><p>"You mean, other than by slashing it open in various places?" Cass asked, trying to maintain an expression that was the picture of nonchalance. It was good to know that even the thought had an effect on the average balloonist—Varian made a noise like a mix of a snort and an awkward wince—and Cass smirked a little, shaking her head. "Nope."</p><p>Even in the darkness that was creeping up all around them, it was easy to see the remaining light illuminating the insides of the ropes and controls.</p><p>"Okay, <em>well</em>, a method that is generally considered a <em>little</em> safer than wrecking your <em>only means of flight</em> would be to gently let off the pressure via the flap at the top of the balloon." Varian was clearly taking some offense on behalf of balloons everywhere—his eyes were gleaming with playful annoyance, and Cass had to smother a grin. "Would you... like to give it a try, milady?"</p><p>Cass shrugged, not seeing anything wrong with learning a new skill, and moved to reach up toward the various controls on and around the burner. Belatedly, she found that she had to hesitate before touching anything, unsure which things did what. Varian grinned, but didn't mention it.</p><p>"Here, these are a little different than the big ones. The flame's already pretty low, so you just need to let a little air out."</p><p>With a touch so light and brief it was hard to have any memory of it, Varian guided her hand to the correct place on the rope—and then withdrew to the burner's control knob, his gaze up in the balloon. </p><p>"You pull for <em>juuust</em> a few seconds, then let up," he explained. "The key is mostly just being patient and watching your results for what to do next. It'll go down a lot more gently that way."</p><p>She did so, if hesitantly, because something about controlling your only means of remaining airborne when you had no feel for how it operated yet that didn't <em>quite</em> incite a feeling of confidence. Nothing changed about their altitude as noticeably or as abruptly as she'd expected—and a little bit of confidence grew in her as she tugged at the rope with a bit more strength, letting up every few moments when she felt their balloon begin to drop.</p><p>Varian grinned, his more experienced eyes flickering from the burner to the ground to check their descent. "Just like that. Perfect. You got it?"</p><p>A light-hearted feeling rose in her chest, as if the little sense of irrational pride she felt at his words didn't want to descend as fast as they were, slow though it was.</p><p>"I think so."</p><p>A steady draft of air funneled upward with each release of the flap, and slowly, the basket beneath her feet sunk back down through a little scrap of sky and back to earth.</p><p>—</p><p>The terrace was still a bit crowded, though it was mostly from so many guards and castle workers milling about, taking the end of the event as their opportunity to go congratulate the princess. The world was nearly dark, except for the cheery golden lights dotting the walls and railings, and the dusky shadows gave Cassandra a sense of anonymity that felt far more comfortable than the daylight.</p><p>"Gotta say, <em>that</em> was pretty impressive," she murmured to Varian as he worked on lashing down the still-inflated balloon to the extra sandbags again. Part of her wanted to grab a rope too, but there was probably a method for doing this and she had the feeling she'd be more of a hindrance than a help. "Your idea?"</p><p>She couldn't see his face where he was bent down tying off another rope, but he chuckled in embarrassment, and she could hear the smile in his tone.</p><p>"Heh, yeah. Thanks," he replied with a modest shrug, though when he turned a bit to glance at her before straightening up, he was grinning. "You know, I <em>have</em> been told I'm full of <em>bright</em> ideas."</p><p>It was dark enough that Cass almost, <em>almost</em> gave in to the urge to make a face at him, but she refrained. Barely.</p><p>"Nope. Puns are not an accepted currency; try again," she retorted flatly, glad the darkness mostly hid her smile when he snickered at her tone.</p><p>The gleam in his eye was especially noticeable in the contrast against their shadowy surroundings. Varian stood straight again, pretending to ponder this for a moment before smirking sideways at her.</p><p>"Oh, yeah; that's right. How could I forget that you prefer <em>dark</em> humor?"</p><p>That was—<em>better</em>, but he didn't need to know that. Unfortunately, a snort had escaped her before she could stop it, and he was already grinning widely. She made a show of folding her arms and rolling her eyes, trying to push down the corners of her mouth that were trying to quirk upward.</p><p>Curiosity and good humor and the vague lack of inhibition that came from snatching too many sweets today ebbed through her, and she pushed her hesitance aside and smiled, bending to help load the last sandbag into the moored balloon's basket.</p><p>"That was fun. Thanks." Cass gave Varian a little sideways smile—one that she could feel him return, even after she looked back down to make sure the ropes were piled securely. She meant it—although it left a slightly too sappy taste in her mouth, one that silently begged <em>keep talking; change the subject</em>. She scrounged her mind for anything else she'd meant to say, landing on something that she was probably too late to ask. "...I'm gonna regret this, but what was the joke, earlier?"</p><p>As scattered as one might expect Varian to be sometimes, no one could say he didn't pay extremely impressive attention to detail. Gears turned behind his eyes for a moment as he thought back—<em>I'm not the one who grew a foot</em>—then he snickered again.</p><p>"Oh! Yeah. Heh. Well, I think it's pretty apparent that I couldn't <em>possibly</em> have grown a foot." He briefly stood on one leg and lifted his other boot into the air, smirking politely with the gleam in his eye of someone who <em>knew</em> they were telling a really bad joke. "I still have the same two; see?"</p><p>Cassandra, with eyes narrowed in displeasure but nose twitching in amusement, took off one of her gloves in one swift motion and made a motion to smack him sharply over the head with it. Varian stumbled to get his feet back under him as he ducked away, laughing and swatting her back.</p><p>"Hey, I warned you it was bad! Don't act like that was on me!"</p><p><em>That</em> was when he stared at her and froze stiff, and the startled look that was suddenly in his eyes had her brain in alarm mode before she could realize what he was looking at.</p><p>"Oh!" he yelped, and for once, the rush of fight-or-flight instinct that struck her made her tense in surprise rather than put her hand over her dagger. He looked panicked, and he was looking at <em>her</em>, and <em>what, was she okay?</em> "Cass—<em>what happened to your hand?</em> Wh—Are you okay? When did—does it hurt? You got burnt? Are you okay? What happened?"</p><p>His face was almost stricken as he looked at her, <em>at the scar tissue that went from her fingertips all the way up to her elbow</em>, and judging by the pain in his eyes and the way his own right hand clenched and drew back against his ribs, he was probably imagining what could've happened to leave her arm and hand so thickly scarred that it looked <em>wrong</em>.</p><p>It felt like a cold wave crashed over her. She could feel her expression close up as she drew her arm back in.</p><p>"Rapunzel didn't tell you?" she asked stiffly as she tucked her hand against her stomach and looked away.</p><p>"No! I mean, unless she did and I just..." He trailed off, mind visibly whirring behind his eyes.</p><p>Rapunzel must've told him. Uncertainty washed over his face.</p><p>"...Oh."</p><p>Cass kept her gaze away, feeling stiff. Still, something in her mind kept prodding her to <em>just talk about it; he clearly didn't hear much and isn't this all in the past?</em>—but there was a wall in front of that subject, a very thick one she'd put up for a reason. Despite that—despite little parts of her that didn't <em>want</em> to change—she bit down the faint taste of bitterness in her throat and pulled her gaze back up to his.</p><p>"...Did you ever see her do the decay incantation?"</p><p>In immediate hindsight, that was a stupid question, but he only blinked, hesitance all over his face. "Yeah...? Yes."</p><p>Her gaze faltered for a moment, which he hopefully didn't notice, because <em>it was fine</em>. "Well, I... grabbed her while she was doing it."</p><p>Stupidly. (<em>Not stupidly; how the heck was she supposed to know Rapunzel's arm would light hers on fire? Her power had always been in her hair; she knew that and hadn't </em>touched<em> her hair</em>—) ...<em>No</em>, stupidly. And that was a long time ago.</p><p>The reason behind it didn't seem to matter much to Varian. He tilted his head slightly, eyes still wide with hesitant hurt.</p><p>"Way back then? And the big... ultimate power Sundrop incantation didn't fix it?"</p><p>Cassandra just shook her head. It'd <em>healed</em> her hand, thankfully, to the point there it had <em>skin</em> and felt almost like it used to, but the heavy burn scars still remained. She'd played with the idea that perhaps the Sundrop couldn't completely <em>undo</em> the work of the Moonstone. King Edmund hadn't regained his arm, after all.</p><p>"I don't really want to talk about it. It's fine."</p><p>"And I keep—" he started, and judging by the apologetic look in his eyes, he was sincerely regretting the times he'd taken her hand without knowing. Something inside her flinched, wanting to correct the notion, because just <em>touching</em> it didn't hurt and he'd always been gentle. "Sheesh, I'm sorry. Does it... hurt?"</p><p><em>Cass, trust me!</em> he'd said when he'd grabbed her wrist; he'd shaken her hand as a goodbye parting when she'd left the first time; he'd tried to do it again when she returned. He <em>had</em> kept reaching out to her, always offering his hand. His right hand, usually, because <em>of course it was; he was right-handed</em>—and when he took hers, he took her right hand as well.</p><p>Clearly, he hadn't known what a mess it was.</p><p>She looked down at it as she tugged her glove back on, trying to ignore the glossy mess of scarring that traced an ugly red pattern all the way up her forearm.</p><p>"Not anymore." Because it <em>didn't</em> hurt, really; not unless she tried too hard to hold onto something or needed precise dexterity in her fingers. "It's fine."</p><p>Varian only stared for a moment, still looking like he was picturing how it must've felt, and she had half a mind to change the subject to <em>anything else</em> so he could stop going down the road to pitying her. Before she could say anything, however, his gaze dropped to the stone floor, and a ghost of a saddened look crossed his face.</p><p>"...I grabbed her, too," he offered quietly. He looked up at her again, with a faint flicker of a little smile that fell again. "I treated my gloves to withstand concentrated acid for up to nine minutes. When I grabbed her, they just... melted off. In seconds."</p><p>A little part of her wondered, absently, if he had burn scars too. He rarely seemed to take his gloves off either.</p><p>"We've got a lot in common, huh?" Cassandra remarked, voice quiet. A little smile flickered across his face.</p><p>"Bad decisions-wise? Yeah," he agreed, and though he was smiling, the way his eyes dropped again was regretful. ...Until he glanced at her with a hint of mischief tugging at his face, that was. "<em>I</em> think you were copying me."</p><p>Very few things ever caught Cass off-guard, but that turn in the conversation <em>almost</em> made her sputter a noise of surprise.</p><p>"Okay, <em>whoa</em>. I was not!" she retorted, trying to narrow her eyes at him, but his cheeky grin at that made it hard to do more than pretend to glare as she tried to push the grin off her face.</p><p>His entire posture seemed to brighten up at her reaction, and he straightened up and tried to smirk as he started listing off his line of reasoning on his fingers.</p><p>"Let's see, you're the only kid of an important soldier dad—" he started, and Cass kind of <em>had</em> to interrupt.</p><p>"Which was totally me copying you; you weren't even—"</p><p>"—who got mad at Rapunzel and took one of the <em>two earthly manifestations of the ultimate power right out from under her hand</em>, if I heard that correctly—"</p><p>"I actually got power out of it," she grumbled under her breath—not that that was exactly something to brag about, granted, but it was <em>something</em>. Still, he didn't stop there.</p><p>"–and I <em>know</em> you copied my 'grab someone in a giant hand mechanism' thing."</p><p><em>Yeah, because I know it hurts</em>, she almost said, but bit her tongue just in time. An uncertain look had already flickered into his eyes for a moment, and she knew he'd start backtracking to apologize if she called attention to it. Instead, she simply folded her arms again and raised an eyebrow, a tiny smirk tugging at her face to let him know he could keep going with his amusing list of parallels.</p><p>The awkward grin he gave after that almost made her smile despite herself. "And we both have dark hair!" he chirped proudly, even though that was probably the most baseless similarity. Cass rolled her eyes upward.</p><p>"Yeah, I know; I'm such a copycat. Considering that I was like, <em>eight</em> when you were born."</p><p>"I <em>think</em> you would've been seven, but yeah yeah yeah, okay. So it's less <em>that</em> than method. Didn't I hear you crashed a birthday party at the castle to get everyone's attention, too?"</p><p>She—hadn't... even... thought of that, actually. "...<em>Completely</em> different situation." In all honesty, she might've crashed Eugene's party even if she hadn't taken the Moonstone. Just... probably not quite like <em>that</em>. "I showed up, gave an ultimatum, got some cake, and left. <em>You</em> sent a musical robot and handed out cookies."</p><p>To her surprise, despite the gleam of very mild offense in his eyes, he burst into a few snickers at that.</p><p>"You can't just—say it like <em>that</em>," he protested mildly, and Cass had to purse her lips tightly to keep her smirk from turning into a grin. "That takes all the effect out of it!"</p><p>"Yeah, but a <em>music box</em> tune?" That was... another thing he could probably add to his list, actually. Not that she would probably tell him that. "I <em>know</em> those things didn't have to play creepy music to work properly." Varian's eyes glittered with mock-offended amusement, and she took that as a sign that the subject was okay to joke about now in moderation. "You really went all-out in the flair department there, huh?"</p><p>"<em>Tch</em>—ah, shut up," he grumbled snarkily through a laugh, though there was almost negative bite to it. His attempt at a frown turned into an embarrassed, crooked grin as he glanced away.</p><p><em>Yeah? Make me</em>, she almost teased with a smirkish grin, but that would've felt a hundred times too weird to say to <em>Varian</em>, so she snapped her mouth shut and grasped awkwardly for something different to say.</p><p>Fortunately, she was spared the trouble. The sharp clip-clop of hooves rang out on the stone terrace from a short distance behind them, and they both stiffened as it broke through their little bubble of conversation. They turned to see Maximus parading across the terrace—head held high and his jaw clenched around the hood of a dark-cloaked figure he was carrying.</p><p>Cass blinked, trying to recognize who it was in the dim light, but Max's eyes only fell on them for a moment before he trotted past them, toward where Eugene stood by Lance as he was helping Rapunzel out of their balloon. Cass and Varian exchanged glances, curiosity getting the better of them as they followed to see what was happening.</p><p>"Princess!" the dangling figure exclaimed in a nearly embarrassed accent. "Ah—<em>Your Royal Highness,</em> I mean. Hello! Fancy seeing you here!"</p><p>It was almost amusing, to see Eugene, Lance, <em>and</em> Rapunzel lay eyes on the thief Max had caught and suddenly assume three identical unimpressed expressions.</p><p>"Hi Dwayne," they chorused flatly, and Cass almost let out a chuckle of sympathy for them.</p><p>Max didn't even set Dwayne's feet on the ground, instead opting to continue dangling him like a small animal caught by the scruff of its neck. Dwayne barely seemed to notice or mind. He just waved sheepishly and swung a foot as if bashfully kicking at some dust.</p><p>"I wasn't tryin' to <em>crash</em> the party; honest!" he assured them, with feigned innocence that <em>Shorty</em> could probably see through, holding up his hands in a pacific manner. "I just saw everyone lookin' up, and thought I could pick a few pockets! That's all!"</p><p>"You two still haven't managed to get through to this guy?" Cass asked dryly, glancing to Rapunzel and Eugene. The couple had identical expressions of resigned annoyance, which was admittedly entertaining in itself.</p><p>"Apparently not," Eugene replied, in a voice that sounded like he wished he could've been surprised. "Though it isn't for lack of trying."</p><p>"I didn't mean to ruin your evening, Princess! Promise!" Dwayne exclaimed with a vigorous nod. "Just let me go, and I'll be on my way."</p><p>Even Max had a flat expression on his face. He pointedly did not take the liberty of setting the thief on the ground.</p><p>"Can it, Dwayne," Eugene and Lance sighed in unison.</p><p>Dwayne—who Cass couldn't remember ever seeing <em>listen</em> when someone told him that—just grinned sheepishly.</p><p>"Will you let me go if I tell you that Lady Caine was planning on using me as a distraction while she snuck in to steal the princess' presents?" he tried, voice and pose more hopeful than they really had a right to be.</p><p>Eugene paused for a moment as he registered this, then huffed in annoyance. He glanced at a few guards standing at attention nearby to watch the scene, motioning for them to check it out.</p><p>"What, is she mad she didn't get an invitation again?" Eugene asked in annoyance as the guards hurried off.</p><p>Dwayne's posture loosened as he sighed, gaze dropping sadly to the ground. "I don't know. She doesn't tell me very much."</p><p>"I <em>will</em> invite her if she doesn't stop trying to crash everything," Rapunzel grumbled.</p><p>Eugene, showcasing his expert judgement and clear intent to follow traditional captain protocol, just shrugged at the idea. "Some people just want the attention. It might work."</p><p>Rapunzel seemed to take in a deep breath, then quietly let it out. (And not that Cass thought it in anything but an amused friend way, but Rapunzel looking borderline annoyed was <em>hilarious.</em>) She raised her eyebrows and gave a polite, if just slightly forced smile. "Okay, but Dwayne—promise me you'll give being a thief a <em>break</em> for a while. Okay?"</p><p>Dwayne thumped a fist over his heart enthusiastically, which made him swing slightly in Max's grip. He nodded vigorously, eyes gleaming. "Of course! I promise! Consider it my birthday gift to you, Princess!"</p><p>The somewhat resigned, purposefully neutral expression was still on Rapunzel's face, and it was all Cass could do to not make it <em>too</em> obvious she was smiling wryly in amusement over someone else's problems again. To her credit, Rapunzel smiled politely in a way that reminded Cass a little of Queen Arianna when an awkward situation required extra poise.</p><p>"Thanks, Dwayne. We'd appreciate it."</p><p>A brief look of uncertainty crossed Eugene's face, and he leaned toward his wife just slightly with eyebrows raised. "Was <em>that</em> the royal we?" he asked in a hushed tone.</p><p>Rapunzel pursed her lips as she considered this, giving a hesitant half-shrug. "That was kind of a general 'we'? I meant us and Max and the guards."</p><p>"Ah. Gotcha."</p><p>Max set Dwayne down with a thunk of boots on the ground, though not without a narrow-eyed warning stare. Dwayne grinned sheepishly, waving as he backed up a few steps, clearly ready to try to take off.</p><p>"Sorry t' interrupt! Go <em>right</em> ahead back to your evening. Happy birthday, Princess!"</p><p>With that, he turned and dashed into the crowd toward the stairs. Rapunzel glanced over at a nearby Stan and Pete, who were watching this exchange with identical sets of unimpressed eyebrows. "Would you two mind keeping an eye on him?"</p><p>Stan lifted up his halberd and nodded, mustache twitching. "Already on it, Your Highness. Come on, Pete."</p><p>Pete, who was already following him as he began to head into the crowd, tilted his head to the side in a mild gesture of bewilderment. "Okay, but like... how can I make it <em>more</em> obvious that I'm right behind you?"</p><p>The pair of guards disappeared into the thinning crowd of people and golden lamplight and dancing shadows. Rapunzel let out a very <em>slightly</em> tired breath, before putting a hand on her hip and turning to her friends with a smile that quickly warmed the air.</p><p>"Did you guys have fun?" she asked, her eyes regaining their curious sparkle as she looked to Cass and Varian.</p><p>Cass glanced sideways and met Varian's gaze for a fleeting moment—he looked almost hopeful, and like he was waiting for her to say—but before either of them could answer, Eugene spoke up.</p><p>"Fun?" he repeated at an incredulous pitch, a teasing twinkle in his eye. It almost would've put Cass's nerves on end, had it not been for the mildly devious and very familiar smirk he gave as he tossed Rapunzel a warm look. "Sunshine, I love you and you're the light of my life, but maybe we oughta use words the cobra woman knows the meaning of."</p><p>Cass, having recognized that smug expression the second it'd started to crawl into Eugene's face, just leveled him with an unimpressed look. She was a little more surprised than she perhaps should've been to notice that Rapunzel and Varian had immediately done the same.</p><p>Eugene, seeing that he was quite clearly outnumbered on the issue, blinked and held his hands up awkwardly.</p><p>"Hoo<em>-kay</em>, there's a Cass Protection Squad here, I guess. I retract my obviously good-natured and witty remarks for tonight."</p><p>There was a polite, amused cough from behind them, and Cass tensed, eyes widening a bit as she turned.</p><p>Queen Arianna and King Frederic—<em>what titles had they opted for now, again?</em>—stood there behind them, watching the exchange. Cass tried to give them a wavering, apologetic smile as she stepped back, opening the way for the royal family to see each other.</p><p>She probably should've dropped to one knee out of respect, like pardoned lawbreakers did in so many other kingdoms—but <em>everyone here would stare at her with pity for that,</em> and there was still a part of her old pride that stung at the thought. She gave a respectful nod instead, dropping her gaze in a show of deference, like she'd done as a lady-in-waiting so many years before.</p><p>It was, perhaps, because of that that she noticed the odd sense of warmth from beside her as Varian stood just a bit closer, as if to vouch for her without words. There was the soft padding of bare feet against stone as Rapunzel stepped up beside her too, and when Cass glanced up at her, her smile was strong and warm as ever.</p><p>Rapunzel must've already had a few talks with her parents. Arianna smiled kindly at the group of friends—and even Frederic, despite clearly having difficulty smothering the parental worry that came from seeing his only child standing happily amidst a gaggle of ex-thieves and ex-traitors, made an admirable attempt at a warm smile too.</p><p>Rapunzel sprung forward to embrace her parents, and Eugene stepped up in the empty space she'd left beside Cass. It was... <em>strange</em>, but not unpleasant, to feel the purposefulness in his and Varian's postures as they stood by her in a quiet vote of support.</p><p>"That was amazing!" Rapunzel gushed, and any traces of awkward tenseness in her parents' postures melted away at the bright smile she gave them. "You have <em>got</em> to try flying sometime, Dad; it's so beautiful up there. Did you see what Varian did with the balloons?"</p><p>"Yes, very impressive," Frederic replied with a thin smile. He had always sounded a bit awkward when addressing Rapunzel's friends on a casual level, and Cass got the sense that he wasn't one to naturally enjoy anything quite <em>that</em> adventurous, but his words were by no means insincere. "Our Royal Engineer has proven to be a good one."</p><p>Varian straightened beside her, his tentative pride at the king's words almost palpable. He chuckled softly, and only ducked his head a little bit before trying to meet the man's gaze again.</p><p>"Thank you, Your Highness," he said quietly, clearly unable to prevent a lopsided grin at the praise. His front teeth shone again in the faint light, and despite her nerves, Cass smiled too.</p><p>She felt eyes on her, and glanced over to Rapunzel, who seemed to have noticed the gesture and was now smiling even more warmly herself.</p><p>"I love you guys," Rapunzel said earnestly, in a voice thick with the same warmth it'd held in a torn-open tower two years prior. It was so familiar yet foreign, and felt so poignantly <em>unearned</em> that it made the stinging feeling of warm saltwater build in Cass' sinuses despite everything. (But that was silly. She <em>didn't</em> cry, almost ever, so she certainly didn't feel tempted to tear up for sentimental reasons—no matter how strong the rush of a tiny voice asking <em>really? </em>was that she'd had at those words ever since she was small. She'd... grown past that, too, she was sure.)</p><p>Rapunzel's eyes gleamed bright, and the purple shadows that wrapped around her seemed wholly out of place on a person who'd always been so vibrant. She glanced up at her parents, then looked to Eugene, then Lance and Varian, before her gaze finally landed on Cass and hovered there. When she spoke, it was clearly aimed at everyone, yet everyone <em>individually</em>. "Thanks, for... for being here. I never would have made it here without <em>all</em> of you. I couldn't ask for anything better."</p><p>Pascal chirped fondly from his spot on Rapunzel's shoulder, and Ruddiger appeared from whatever shadows he'd vanished off into, rubbing against one of the Princess' ankles with a chirrup of agreement.</p><p>"Are you kidding?" Eugene asked in that light-hearted, high-pitched voice he did sometimes, brushing arms with his wife and smiling down at her with eyes full of warmth. "<em>We're</em> the lucky ones, Sunshine. Or at least I know <em>I</em> am."</p><p>Varian, with a confident determination she wouldn't have expected from him, but a thin, kind-eyed smile she would have, tilted his chin up just a bit and mimed raising a glass of some sort. "To a long and happy reign, Your Highness," he said in a voice that was equal parts friendly and reverent.</p><p>"Hear, hear!" Lance agreed heartily, mirroring the gesture. Frederic and Arianna looked on with warmth in their eyes, and Eugene just smiled.</p><p>Cass nodded, dipping her head respectfully before meeting her friends gaze with a little smile. "To many more years to come."</p><p>The lanterns in the sky were no more than pinpricks, now; a cluster of golden stars that stretched over the horizon.</p><p>They all stood along the balcony railing, then—friends, family, chameleon, and raccoon—and the electricity in the air was palpable as they watched a sea of thousands of lights ascend.</p><p>The breeze was soft from behind them, and it gently ushered the glowing cloud of lanterns ahead.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Me, months and months ago when I started writing this chapter: This is only set two years later, so it can really only be friendshippy with a few hints of future potential.</p><p>Also me, opening the valve on a fifty-gallon drum labeled 'hints at future potential': oh what the heck it's for Cassarian Month</p><p> <s><em>Also</em> me, after thinking I'd finally finished this entire chapter: <em>wait where'd I put Pascal</em></s></p><p>WHOO! Thanks for reading this far, guys! I am <em>so</em> glad I finally got that done. I really need to put limits on my word counts so no crazy 20k chapters ever happen again. XD I hope that wasn't too much of a mess! I promise I'll polish up this fic eventually; it just may be a while until I can look at this chapter without the wearied eyes of someone who's read it 8273829 times and can no longer see anything but a large pile of words.</p><p>I really like the observations people made when Cassandra's Revenge first aired—starting with the first moment he saw Cass again after redeeming himself, Varian's <em>first response</em> is to physically reach out to her. Later, during Nothing Left To Lose, he <em>keeps</em> reaching out to her. He chases after her, grabs her hand, and tries to get her to understand that he can connect with her in a way nobody else we're shown really can. Even after she throws him across the room with the rocks, he gets up and reaches out to her again without hesitation. It's really cool! (And it's interesting to note that Varian seems to be right-handed, at least judging by the times we've seen him writing. If Cass ever did accept his hand, he'd be taking <em>her</em> right hand as well. Which is her damaged one. There's a reason the Cassarian discord had an unofficial Hand Kiss September this year!)</p><p>In case it wasn't obvious, I am a big fan of the "Cass cooing at Ruddiger, and Varian is suddenly lost to everything else watching her" idea. XD</p><p>Also, balloon rides are to these two what romantic cruises are to New Dream, change my mind. (And no, I don't say that <em>solely</em> because the balloon scene in Under Raps was admittedly one heck of a date and was somewhat wasted on Andrew. That's only, like, 85% of the reason. XD)</p><p>This really should've been half this long, but I always feel bad writing out possible character interactions and then cutting them from the story to be put in my drafts and never seen again. (I definitely <em>could've</em> split this into two at that tempting line break in the middle, but it really wasn't two chapters' worth of situations, and I'm still stubbornly sticking to the fact that I'd like this fic to have five chapters. It just looks nicer! XD Six chapters just feels like it'd be getting into <em>this story should have an active plot</em> territory—a liiittle too long for a character/relationship study fluff fic.) I should still go through this chapter and do some trimming, but I wanted to get this posted before anything else happened. i.e., before any more time went by. I meant to have this chapter finished by <em>July</em> at the absolute latest; sheesh. So sorry about that! I don't know where this year went.</p><p>As always, feedback is very much appreciated! I'd love to hear what you think!</p><p>There's just one more chapter, but two more weathervanes! And—surprise of all surprises!—more fluff. Stay tuned! &lt;3</p>
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